


How they should have met

by GrayPony (RedPony)



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, More tags as soon as they become relevant, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-07 21:45:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15228522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedPony/pseuds/GrayPony
Summary: I really dislike the Avengers Infinity war. What I really despised was the absolutely hectic and unimpressive way some characters met. In my unimportant opinion, one of the main reasons why this film isn't anywhere close to what it could have been is that so many moments we just longed to see were squeezed into one single film instead of being part of some amazing standalones. So I decided to write about how they should have met.Every chapter is a meeting how it should have been. The first two chapters are with my favourite characters of course.Edit: Somehow this wants to become a story. Since my roomie agreed to help me and beta it I'm now completely rewriting the whole infinity war story arc. Heaven helps me, how have I gotten myself into that?





	1. Stark meets Strange

**Author's Note:**

> somehow it seems I cannot write characters I really like without letting them suffer... the more I like them, the more they hurt.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stark follows a sentient ... cloth?

"Hey there, whatcha doing?"

Tony felt quite disappointed with the voice in his ear. "What do you mean Rhodey? I'm on my way home."

A snort in his headphone. "Yeah, obviously, but what were you doing out there in the first place?" He asked. "All suited up."

Just correcting a little shenanigan of the friendly spider in the neighbourhood. Nothing too serious." He replied. "I'm almost back home. So stop-"

Stark stopped midsentence while flying in stealth mode through the labyrinthine streets of upper New York, he had caught a glimpse of something strange with his peripheral vision.

"FRIDAY?" He asked, "Could you replay that for me? The … red thingy back there on the corner?"

He hovered in mid-air, searching for the fleeting shadow he had just seen.

"Yes sir, I guess this is what you mean." His trusted AI replayed the sequence from mere seconds before. "Here it is! He exclaimed, "Reverse eight seconds and make that bigger."

The picture he saw on his monitor was absolutely impossible. It was a piece of red cloth moving through the streets on its own as if seeking for something.

"Where is it FRIDAY? Help me find it!" It took them only minutes to catch up with the flying piece of fabric. He positioned himself in front of it, the repulsors ready to fire.

He felt silly speaking to a piece of cloth but he had experienced far stranger things than he'd ever guessed so far so he decided to give it a chance. "Hey there! Stop! Whatever you're up to, just… HEY!"

The thing reacted faster than he anticipated, wrapping itself around his arm and simply dragging him away faster than it should be possible for a piece of cloth. Heavens! What was he thinking? None of what this thing had done so far should be possible.

"Stop that!" He exclaimed and fired his thrusters to halt it. "I mean it"

The cloth should have been ripped, but it just shook as if annoyed and wrapped itself around his arm again, tugging at him as if it were a child. Looking more closely he could see it was not merely a piece of cloth, but more some kind of … cape? It had intricately stitched seams and patterns and some pretty clasps. It looked like some sort of magician's cape.

It turned its lapels at him as if it were looking back and kept tugging at his arm as if urging him along. He had no idea how this was possible but it seemed to have an urgent need to get him somewhere.

He felt sillier by the moment but he decided to give it a try. "Hey, you want me to come along?"

The cape thingy stilled for a moment just to swirl around one time in a quick flicker of dramatic before it latched itself at his arm again, tugging harder.

"Ok, I don't know if I'm going crazy now but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Lead the way, I'm coming."

He shook his head and followed stunned with disbelieve when the cape seemed to understand and hovered in front of him, literally quivering with anticipation. When it ‘saw' (how could it see? It had no eyes!) he'd follow it speeded away so fast he could barely keep up. The journey was short though.

Soon the sensors registered an energy spike, right down a dingy alley some people had gathered in front of some kind of blueish barrier keeping them out and the cape was steering right towards it! Before he could slow down or do anything the cape turned in an unbelievable fast move and secured itself on his metal-clad shoulders whisking him through the barrier as if it was nothing. He could see stirred paper and trash rolling and bouncing back from the barrier, but it seemed the cape could bring anything through.

Shit. He really hoped now this wasn't a trap.

The cape detached itself as soon as they were through the barrier and speeded towards a figure frozen in an impossibly grotesque scenery right in front of him.

A tall, blue-clad, yellow gloved figure was bent backwards, barely holding himself upright, he was frozen in a fall that would have speared him onto some rubble that had broken from a building behind him, he had spread the right hand towards a horrible mass of tentacles protruding from something that looked like a rift in reality, ploughing towards the man with dripping tentacles, one almost reaching his shoulder. The same bluish energy barricading the street emanated from his hand and surrounded the creature, freezing both of them in the middle of their apparent fight. The strange man's left hand was stretched towards the other side, were the monster's tentacles, which seemed to ooze some highly corrosive goo, had terribly impacted the structure of a building. The bluish barrier expanded from this hand as well, keeping the falling rubble in mid-air to save some people beneath it from being crushed.

The man was shivering with his strenuous position as much as with obvious struggle to keep those energy fields in check. Sweat was dripping down his face, clearly showing that whatever kept this scene frozen was hard to maintain and not helping his effort in the slightest.  While he watched the scene unfold Stark realized that it was slowly moving. The freeze not absolute, the tentacles inched towards the surrounding buildings and the man which held all at bay, the rubble was falling, the people were moving. It was very slow though, almost unnoticeable.

The cape whizzed by and settled itself around the shoulders of the man, effectively pushing him away from the rubble and towards the monster. The man barely glimpsed at the red cloth but a look of faint relieve ran across his face.

"Wong!" He exclaimed without looking towards Stark, "I got the griparmur skrímsli! Keep the wall in check! Get those people away!"

He had definitely expected someone else to come. But Stark decided to do anyway what the other wanted.

"Roger that! Just do what you do!" He replied and positioned himself above the people, ready to blast away the rubble and shield them with the suit. He'd rather fight the monster but he was to smart not to accept that there were too many variables there to risk breaking the man's concentration and let an oozing tentacle alien running rampage in New York.

The man barely registered the unknown voice, he seemed to trust his sentient piece of cloth to have brought what was needed and dissipated both energy fields with little motions of his fingers. Within a second hell broke loose.

The tentacled mass screeched as if a million lobsters were cooked alive, their sound been amplified by high-end sound equipment, it whirled and stabbed in all directions, its slime dissolving anything coming in its way. The wall fell down immediately pulverized by Stark’s thrusters' blasts and he turned around, shielding the people with his suit while watching one of the tentacles spearing the wizard just to be fend off by an orange energy shield conjured out of nothing before it could do more damage. With a scream the man forced the being back into the rift with fiery whips and burning shields, forcing the rift close with some intricate patterns woven into the air by expert hands as soon as the being was back inside, before collapsing into the hold of his magical cape.

It had only lasted seconds.

The man moaned and applied another bluish field over his shoulder, hissing at the impact.

"It poisoned me! Wong! Help me! I need to get back to the Sanctorum or this will eat me alive."

Tentatively Stark looked back to the few people huddling behind him and to the walls around. The ooze had dissipated, everything looked safe now. Slowly he stepped forward, ready to grab the man who wasn't even looking anymore, he was slumped forward, his eyes closed and his breathing heavy.

"What’s wrong with you?” The man forced out. "Come on already! Forgot your ring?"

He hesitantly grabbed the man's shoulders unsure what to do next when the others hands moved and opened another rift right in front of them. "Get me the sigil at least! We have to burn the poison out!" The man pressed through gritted teeth, still clenching his eyes shut in pain.

Tony almost froze on the spot, the sparkling portal stirred too many unpleasant memories, but the wheezing man in his arms looked paler by the second and so he didn't allow himself to reason and stepped through the portal, almost dragging the bigger figure.

The man moaned and without his marvellous garment he would have sagged to the floor of an antique furnished room that looked as if it was part of a museum.  His hand still clamped over the ugly looking wound, freezing it with its blue energy.

The blinking in his helmed showed him that he was disconnected.

Shit. Where were they now?

The next moment another portal opened and a stoic-looking Asian walked through it. He stopped dead in his tracks when his look fell onto Iron Man holding the man he had just carried through a portal into the unknown.

"What the…" to the man's honour his absolute surprise was only shown by a slight widening of his eyes.

Stark decided to keep going with the flow. "He's poisoned. He said something about a sigil? And burning out the poison?"

The Asian man didn't even flinch. With a flourish he opened a mini-portal and grabbed something from god knows were. He stepped towards the now almost unconscious man in Tony's arms and pushed his head to the side.

"Can you rip apart the clothing when I tell you too?" he inquired to Stark. "Everything between the sigil and the wound will be burned into him. As soon as the clothing is out of the way I can seal this. We must be fast or he will die."

Looking down Stark saw little wisps of smoke escaping from beneath the blue glow emanating from the still tightly clamped hand. He guessed that wasn't a good sign. He nodded in agreement and gripped the blue tunic right beneath the hand, ready to pull.

"Stephen!" the other man, Wong? called out, while spreading his own bluish energy over the wound, Stephen I need you to let go, I got you, Stephen?"

The tall man moaned and slowly released his own energy and letting his hand sink away from the wound. In the remaining blue light emanating from the other wizard, the wound looked terrible. The tentacle had speared him mere inches beneath the cape, black smoke and burned blood gathered in the wound together with dirty looking goo, slowly eating into the already charred flesh. The tentacle had left a deep, gaping wound which looked not too good on its own. The wound was only visible for a split-second. The man Stark thought to be Wong nodded to him while murmuring some incantation he could not clearly make out. Stark ripped the scorched cloth away from the man's shoulder the same moment Wong pressed the now red glowing piece he had held in his hand onto the gaping wound while releasing his energy field simultaneously.

A blood-curdling scream ripped from the man's throat when the red-hot sigil burned itself into his flesh, neutralizing the poison and sealing it. Then he fell unconscious into the folds of the cape. A stinking black smoke dissipated into the air, leaving a burned, oily scent lingering around.

The other man, Tony finally decided christening him Wong for the moment, sighed heavily.

"So this is that, care to explain what you're doing here?" He said while looking at Iron Man's faceplate completely unimpressed as if nothing of importance had happened just now.

Tony straightened.

"I'll be damned if I know." He deadpanned. "I'd hoped you could explain.

The red cape nudged them both. Wong looked down at the figure cradled in the red folds of the cloth.

"I guess we should discuss that later. The Cloak of Levitation is not known to be patient when it comes to its master's needs." The man stated dryly.

Stark looked down at the clothing. "Well, this I had the chance to witness. It was very persistent when it took me to help him."

In the end, curiosity got the better of him and instead of demanding immediate clarification he deemed it more useful to his cause to help first, demands later.

Together with the man who had finally confirmed himself to be Wong and the pierce of sentient cloth now named the Cloak of Levitation he brought the man he just met into bed.

Talking about strange evenings.

After that, he found himself helping a stranger peeling ripped clothing from another stranger with the help of a sentient cloak.

When they sat next to the still unconscious what? Wizard? Magician? The other man checked the angry looking wound with the still attached metallic piece sealing it He looked not very approachable but now curiosity threatened to eat Stark alive. The watch in his visor was still working and a quick glance showed him that the whole ordeal including the unusual first aid had lasted mere minutes.

Taking in the peaceful surroundings Stark sighed and let the nanosuit retract so he could see eye to eye.

"So, that's what happened as far as I'm concerned. I was on my way home, when I noticed a piece of cloth floating around on its own, when I tried to inspect it, it dragged me into an epic wizard-battle with the tentacles from hell. As far as I can say it was supposed to get you but found me first." Stark started.

He then told in his own words what he had seen and how it came to him being here without knowing where he was and whom he'd helped.

Wong watched him with an unnerving lack of expression.

"Why did you help him?" He asked when Stark finished his story.

"Dunno." Tony shrugged. "Maybe I'm biased but when the choice is between Gandalf and an oozing ball of tentacles I'd say the choice is easy." He looked thoughtful. "Even if the ‘monster' really didn't mean any harm, it was sloshing acid poison around. Better having it contained."

"Hmmm," the other uttered. "Well, you were right. The ‘monster' didn't come here with ill intention, it just explored a rift. Stephen had to react quickly, he sent me a message and went off to prevent it from rampaging through the city. Not much choice in this I must admit."

He looked up to the inventor as if waging something.

"Who is he?" Stark asked while gesturing towards the sleeping figure covered by a magic cloak behaving as if it were a blanket except for the way it tipped away its master's sweat with its lapels.

"He is the Master of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Dr Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme."

Wong said it as if he was reading today's grocery list.

Tony stumbled over the alliteration, then he chuckled. "Honestly? Strange? That's his name?" Tony openly giggled now. "And I thought the day couldn't get any ‘stranger'."

It was a cheap pun but the two of them giggled anyway.

Shortly after that Wong simply left him. Warning him that venturing into the sanctum on his own could be dangerous while pointing out the way to the door should he feel the need to leave and asking him, in case he might decide to stay for a while, to send the cloak if anything should happen to Stephen. When Tony asked him if he didn't feel threatened he simply snorted a laugh.

Tony didn't quite understand this but he decided to let it go. Carefully as to not disturb the thing he examined the red fabric of the Cloak. It hesitated for a moment in his caring for its master but let him anyway.

Nothing had penetrated the artefact. While the other clothing had been completely ripped and the acid of the tentacles had even sighed some of his nanobots, the Cloak was completely unblemished. Not even the slightest fraying at the seams. Still, it felt like completely common cloth. Rich and heavy but nonetheless just soft fabric.

He looked at it and got the feeling it was looking back. Carefully he prodded it. He wished he'd dare to take a sample but he had felt its strength when it had pulled him towards its master. He didn't want to try now when the said master was unconscious. Maybe the man would allow it when he was awake. He carefully peeled back the edge of the Cloak to have a look at the wound and to his surprise it even let him. Tony didn't believe in magic. He was absolutely convinced it was all just undiscovered science. But he had to admit to himself, he had a hard time finding the science in this.

The wound looked sore and red. The sigil had burned itself into the skin and according to Wong it still pulled at the poison it was attuned to, cleansing it out of the body it was bewitched onto. As soon as the healing process was done it would fall off.

Until then the whole shoulder was red, streaks of green and black emanated from the place of the wound. It would take some days to get back to normal and according to Wong, the fever would be torturing. When he had voiced his concerns Wong had just said the sorcerer had worse. This left the engineer stunned. It sounded so heartless. Still, despite the displayed indifference, the man had treated the other with care and gentleness. Now he entered again carrying a washbowl full of ice and a cloth to cool his friends shoulder, making the pain more bearable. On the tablet he carried was also a flask with some unidentifiable fluid.

"Don't you have places to be and things to do?" He asked Stark.

"Always" he answered, "but nothing like this here right now."

Wong shrugged and went on to help his friend.

"Does he need any more magical attention?" Stark inquired. Wong shook his head.

"Then why don't you take him to a hospital? Let them care for him?"

Stark got up and went closer while asking further.

Wong just stared at him. "And how would I explain that?" He asked. "Besides, Stephen doesn't like hospitals anymore, not after…" The man's eyes drifted to the scarred flesh no longer hidden by the yellow gloves. The destroyed nerves twitching slightly even now.

"I'll have someone come and care for him as soon as you leave."

Stark got an inkling that this might be bigger than he thought. Not just two…old coots fooling around but an organization which went unnoticed by any government so far for who knows how long.

"You know I have to report this?" He inquired carefully. The other just smiled at him.

"Do what you have too. But you should know: the Masters of the Mystic Arts are protecting this world from threats for centuries. Never has any earthly force been able to penetrate our walls or reveal anything beyond what we allowed to be revealed. You might find yourself quite in a sad position if you try to report on us tonight without having any proof."

 

Tony stared at him. “That’s an answer I just cannot accept.” He replied. “I need official answers to the questions people might have. I was dragged into a situation that could have affected innocent people. That did affect innocent bystanders for a fact. I need something before I go!”

Wong looked at him contemplating.

“As much as I can understand your position and as grateful as I am for your help, this is neither the time nor the place for this discussion. You are welcome to come back as soon as the Master of the New York Sanctum is awake again and able to talk. Till then I’m sorry but I have a duty to follow right now and you are in my way.”

With that, he simply swirled his hand and let Tony fall right through a portal appearing beneath his feet. Before he could even react the portal closed and he found himself in his workshop, none the wiser about where he had been just minutes before.


	2. Strange meets Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, Stark has met Strange, but Strange didn't meet Stark, at least he doesn't really know it yet.

 

 

In the end, Tony didn't report about the Masters of the Mystic Arts. In fact, even his try to report the incident didn't go that well.

Not because he didn't want to or he felt threatened but simply because of the whole strangeness reporting being abducted by a sentient cloak to aid the Sorcerer Supreme in a fight against an alien tentacle monster no one had even realized was there.

The witnesses were nowhere to be found. When he finally managed to track one down he didn't want to talk. It wasn't as if he was threatened either, he simply feared for his own sanity and denied the whole incident.

When he came back to the alley all the damage was gone. He found no traces of neither the monster nor the damage.

He had his video and audio recordings of course but without tangible proof, they looked like … special effects.

When he tried to tell Rhodes he believed it was a prank.

So he decided to do some research first. The pictures he got from Strange weren't very good. He got him mostly from the side, slightly from behind but it was a good start. It was a surprise to find out he was a real medical doctor. When FRIDAY had alerted him she'd found the man from the pictures together with the name he’d been given and the file she brought up was the profile of a neurosurgeon he almost lost it.

The most interesting thing he found out about that man besides his life as a surgeon and news about his accident was Strange's name being on HYDRA's hit list. Ok, that definitely spoke for the man. But still, it explained nothing.

When he tried to get anything more recent all that came up was current status: unknown.

No insurance, no bank accounts, no nothing. It was as if he had ceased to exist.

Great.

Then he tried to research the Masters of the Mystic Arts themselves and besides some rumours and stories, he got not much either.  Some mention a place named Kamar-Taj, nothing specific. Rumours that sounded more like a sen-cult than anything of actual interest.

It wasn't till Thor managed to contact them, telling he planned to relocate his people to earth because of the destruction of Asgard.

Great again.

They talked some logistics there and in the end talked about the whole event that brought them to this point. All of a sudden he got a clue about this newly discovered Sorcerer.

"Oh, dear friend son of Stark?" Thor started almost as an afterthought, "I'd be very relieved if you could do me a favour and alert the Sorcerer Supreme of our arrival. I want to avoid another confrontation."

"Oh, you had a rub in with the Masters of the Mystic Arts?" Tony stated as if he was perfectly aware of everything.

Thor actually flushed. "Well, let's say Master Strange is not a fan of my brother."

Another point for Strange in Tony's books but he didn't say that aloud. Thor's relationship with his brother was… complicated.

"Well, I seem to have misplaced the address somehow. Reprogramming my AI and such, could you maybe…" he started, Thor's face lit up like a child's. "Of course friend Tony! It's 177A Bleecker Street."

Greenwich Village? Seriously?

"Oh, sure, how could I forget? Thanks, Thor, Rhodes will deal with your logistics. It is good you have some time left till you come, we needn't people believe you're planning an invasion huh?"

"Never friend! We’ll… cooperate fully… all of us!" Tony didn't really know how much he could trust this last emphasis but he decided to delegate this one.

Time to catch on with his new pet project.

 

 

Stephen sat in his kitchen eating oatmeal. He still wasn't fully healed, the fever had just broken last night and he felt weak and disoriented. The sigil continued to burn slightly on his shoulder but according to Wong, the worst was over. Despite that, he had needed to get up and about, he felt restless and during his feverish hallucinations, he had relived far too many of his nightmares far too realistic.

He was clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt, his bare feet shuffling over the floor, the Cloak firmly attached to his shoulders. It never left him these days. It already had been quite clingy after the whole Dormammu deal but now it seemed absolutely convinced that its master wasn't able to do one single step without getting into trouble and it decided that was not happening without it.

Fighting with the cloak was useless and a futile waste of time and energy, so he just let it be. Besides, he felt safer with it.

The Sanctum was quiet and empty. His incapacitation for work had left the other masters with enough to do and now after he was on his way to full recovery they had their hands full with not only their own but his duties as well. Although he could accept that it would be contra-productive to his progress in recovery by wasting his arcane energy on minor treats, he had made it a point to appear stubborn and let Wong work to convince him to take it easy for a while. No way would he ever let his reputation become that of a mellow personality. Where would be the fun in that?

An insistent knock on the door surprised him. It should have been impossible for anybody to invade towards the Sanctums doors right now. The wards were still firmly in place as he left them and he didn't invite anybody… or did he?

Maybe Wong did? Some of his memories of the incident with the sudden rifts and curious tentacle monsters didn’t add up and his comrade in arms hadn’t been very forthcoming. He insisted it had time till he was fully healed or simply ignored him completely whenever he had tried to inquire.

Carefully, with the aid of the Cloak, he approached the door. Hovering there indecisively he listened to the insistent knocking again.

He definitely didn't feel up to whatever was in front of that door but either it was extremely powerful and dangerous or it was an invited guest. Either way, it had to be dealt with.

He sighed and before the person could start the next assault on the door. He let it swing open with the slightest movement of his hand.

He got as ready to fight as possible but he was in for a surprise.

Whatever he had expected, Tony Stark standing in front of his door, clad in impeccable business attire looking very formal and official, was not one of it.

He straightened himself up as far as possible. When he ran his hand through his hair in a futile attempt to look a little less dishevelled he realized for the first time what a poor representation of a mystical master he embodied right now.

Stark looked at him with disbelief. "You're up already?" He asked casually as if they knew each other.

Strange tilted his head. "Obviously." He simply stated. "And what brings you here?" he asked, wishing he could sit again. He definitely wasn't ready for this.

The man called Wong offered me answers and a chance to talk to you as soon as you were coherent again.

"Ah." Well, Stephen thought that explained how Stark had been able to penetrate the wards. What a careless invitation. He'd have to have a word with Wong.

"And this has to be right now, the first moment I'm up and about?" He inquired.

"Honestly, since it has only been three days since you’ve been poisoned I didn't even expect to see you up already." Stark came slowly closer, the stylish aviator glasses did nothing to hide his piercing gaze. Stark was the picture of professionalism right now and he didn’t even flinch when the door behind him slammed itself shut. He held all the cards and he knew it.

"What would you know about the incident with the griparmur skrímsli?" Strange carefully inquired. Wong be damned, many duties aside, he should have taken his time and briefed him about this at least. He hated it standing here like an idiot. He also realized that he had unconsciously backed away from the approaching man. He was hovering slightly above ground now, held up by his Cloak. Determined to not make an even more humiliating picture he firmly set his feet on the ground and towered with his whole height over the engineer, making him stop far too deep inside his comfort zone.

The other man laughed and put his sunglasses down in a very impressive gesture. "Your little levitating friend dragged me into it. Wow, you were really out of it, you didn't even realize who saved your ass, did you?"

Strange could only stare at the other. That explained a lot. Especially Wong's very evasive behaviour when he had asked about the happenings on this day. He felt like going nuke at the man right now if he just had the energy.

"Well, let's say after that little setback I haven't been very much myself lately." If one would consider fever-delirium and raging magic simply ‘not being himself’ than it was true. "Would you terribly mind accompanying me? I'd rather not stand around here in the hallway."

Without looking behind he half walked, half hovered towards the kitchen. His magic was still so much depleted he couldn't do much anyway.  Especially to somebody invited in here however thoughtless and by the way that had been, there were rules and the Sanctum was following its own ones.

He didn't even register Stark's stunned look when he carelessly turned his back to him, but the other man followed anyways.

"You're here all on your own? So shortly after your… have you already recovered? You don't look so good." Tony mentioned.

"Well, there's lots to do and no one to be spared to watch over me. I'm awake, that means, if necessary, I'll fend for myself or call for backup. That's what the master of the New York’s Sanctum is supposed to do at least." Strange shrugged. "Besides, I'm not alone, the Sanctum’s protecting me as much as I protect it, and even if it doesn't look it, so does the Cloak."

"Yeah," Tony replied in a snarky fashion, "that much I've seen."

Strange peeked up at that. "Well, now I'm really interested in what Wong didn't tell me." He went over to the kitchen counter and started to make tea the common way. He'd really like to show off a bit, the way he did with Thor, but he didn't know how soon or how much he'd need his magic again and so it was no use to waste energy on menial tasks. God that was a nasty thing to accept.

Stark stood in the middle off the far too domestic kitchen, letting his gaze move over the comfy but simple interior which didn't want to fit so much with the overall décor of the house. He watched the other man slowly shuffling around, looking quite silly in his casual attire topped with the formidable red cloak. He did observe how the cloak aided the sorcerer absolutely in sync with its master. It didn't seem the man even noticed how the folds steadied his hands when he prepared tea, how it was the cloak that poured the boiling water. At last, he used a little flourish of his hand to hover the tablet with the big mugs not fitting the big, overly ornate Teapot and the milk and sugar in the little silver bowls. Daily magic in action. Seeing the badly shaking hands Tony understood why he did it though. He wasn't very surprised either to see the man filling his cup only half. Strange looked deeply exhausted but after what he'd seen the day of the incident it was a miracle the man was even standing.

He surprised himself when he sat down opposite the sorcerer prepping himself some tea as well despite being more of a coffee type. For a while, they sat in silence, simply staring at each other.

"So," Strange started, "since everybody seemed far too busy to explain anything I'd love to hear what brought you here in my humble home."

Stark sighed.

"Well, it all started with a cloak buzzing around New York’s streets all on its own…"

It was aquite bizarre situation the millionaire and the former surgeon encountered in the kitchen. None of them had ever expected something like this to happen and their meeting could easily have gone south had Stephen been his usual overconfident self. But with things being like they were they found themselves quite amicable towards each other. 

Tony had to admit that having met the Sorcerer the way he did had given the man a good advantage when it came to getting into his good books. Stephen, on the other hand, had to admit he'd never thought Stark would have it in him to help first and ask questions later.

He readily answered most questions the engineer had, declining honestly and sympathetically when they touched topics he was not at liberty to discuss. He got the impression Stark tried to use his weak state a little to extract some admissions but he was able to avoid becoming too forthcoming without being rude. He also had to admit he rather enjoyed having company while being cooped up.

It was an especially odd situation for Stark because of the whole domestic setting. With all that's going on around him he rarely ever just sat in a kitchen drinking … hot beverages and having an animated conversation. He respected that Strange was unwilling to make any concessions right now. But he was satisfied that he did agree on continuous meetings, helping him understand what he was dealing with.

He was happy he had shovelled free the whole day. He had expected even getting entry would have been much more of a challenge than it actually had been. After a while, they relocated into the comfortable chairs in the Sorcerers study. Stark slowly got used to the eerie quiet of the Sanctum despite being in the middle of New York and his curiosity took over again.

It didn’t take long and they fell into a good-natured banter about their various professions. Somehow this led to talks about their several adventures after becoming ‘heroes'. Stark in the middle of everyone's attention, Strange without anybody even knowing. Soon Tony surprised himself by talking about his experiences during the fight with the Citauri, the happenings of Sokovia, being left in Siberia, all those stuff he NEVER talked about. Strange gave as much as he got, telling him with a surprised look in his face that told Tony he didn’t talk about those things either about his accident, his transition, the fight with an unbeatable being he could only keep chained by his own death.

Over and over and over.

Having nearly died himself he understood now how Wong could have said his master had worse without actually being cruel.

After a while, they both shared silence for a while. There were the unnerving similarities between them as well as the total differences. They were two sides of the same coin. One base, but then the total opposite. The one had embraced the first chance to heroism he got, the other had needed to lose everything first until he learned he could be a hero. Both had learned the hard way that having power didn’t mean entitlement. Both had to accept that there was more in the world than they knew. Now one was the ultimate scientist, the other a sorcerer.

"You know, I think had I met you under other circumstances, I totally would have hated you," Tony stated matter of factly.

Stephen laughed. "Yeah, I can see that, I must say I feel quite the same but now…"

They just looked at each other. They both knew what know. They were egocentrics, self-centred individuals who had to learn the bitter way it wasn't about them.

Stephen sighed. "I can't sign the accounts, too much is at stake here and the danger would exceed any usefulness this could bring by far. The mystic arts can be accessed by almost anyone if they just know what to look for. So the knowledge they exist is not something we can bring into the world just now. Working from the shadows is not just a protection for the sorcerers but also our first line of defence against abuse of us and the mystic powers itself. But I understand and I agree with you that we all need some kind of oversight, some ties to stay grounded. What would you say about us staying connected? Puzzling out a way to work together, helping each other, and maybe even controlling each other like we did when you followed a floating piece of cloth without any reason?"

He looked at Stark, bone tired at this time. Just hoping this could end soon. He could clearly see the doubt in the others face. The fear that had led him to questionable actions in the past but also shaped him and encouraged him to do better. He really hoped this day would not end in conflict.

After what seemed an eternity Stark sighed.

"Yeah," he finally said, "I'm not all happy with this, really, but I think it's a good idea taking this slow."

He looked thoughtfully out of the amazingly designed window, one could almost see the cogs in his head turning. "After all, haste has brought too much sorrow already, it's time to try something different. Maybe it's time to just invest some trust again."

Strange just watched him for a while. He smiled at the other.

"Sometimes one has to trust again, even if it had been in vain before." He also turned to the window. "You saved me. I could have beaten this thing alone if I had to, I'd even been able to get home in time to save my own life, but I'm a doctor."

He paused for a while. "Maybe now that I am what I am part of that is even more a doctor than I've ever been. I only truly understand the Hippocratic Oath now, while being forced to break it now and then for the greater good. At first, I didn't even consider fighting. I tried to blend out everything that happened during that invasion, I didn't want to become what I am now. I strived to preserve a self-image I liked, without realizing how selfish and narcissistic it truly was. As a surgeon, I stood by the oath, I was sure to have the higher moral, to be easily able to do no harm. Never did I realize, that sometimes doing no harm is just the excuse for doing nothing.” He looked back at Stark, he was surprised by himself but the obvious similarities in their personalities made it so very easy to talk to the man. He managed to speak out loud what he felt, things he’d never been willing to acknowledge, let alone admit in front of others since the Ancient One had been lost. 

I could have saved the monster, it meant no harm, but still, letting it meander around would have cost hundreds of lives, killing it would have been devastating as well. Its physical properties would have done even more harm when it had died than the living entity itself. I had to send it back to its realm, I’d even been able to do so and save my own life. But alone I could not have saved the innocent bystanders and do what had to be done at the same time, I got caught in the situation the way you found me because I could not decide what to do and this indecision could have cost me everything."

He looked back towards Tony. "You saved me. You spared me the decision of letting harm befall a few people to save many. Thanks to you everybody could be saved. Maybe that's what we'll need each other for in the future."

Tony just watched him. His expression was thoughtful and calm. After a while, they were just watching the light pass through the window.

There were fascinating opportunities waiting for them.


	3. Asgardians meet Guardinans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I also didn't like the end-credit scene of Thor Ragnarok, well let's rewrite it, shall we?  
> I also agree with the many fan theories who point out that Loki looks like crap when he first arrives on earth to bring the Citauri invasion. I also think a master trickster should be able to come up with a much better plan without amassing all his enemies. Big ego or not.

Loki felt cooped up in the ship. He paced through the various areas, avoiding people as much as possible. He told himself it was the tightness, the limited resources, the slow pace of the travel but in truth, it was the goal they were heading toward.

Terra.

He didn’t want to go back there, didn’t want to have to step foot again on the site of his greatest defeat. Especially since said defeat was even more complicated than anybody even had a clue. If anybody ever found out… well, he had to admit probably nothing bad would happen. Nobody shared his view of himself after all but still, the idea anybody could ever find out…

He shook his head, not even to himself could he admit the truth. He went to his brother’s quarters, they had to talk. He fully intended to start over, to tell the truth for once, but again… half-truths, omissions, he sometimes almost became exasperated with himself. It was as if the illusion Odin had forced upon him had seeped into his whole being, had poisoned him beyond repair but he knew even if it was part of who he was, he also had to take on some responsibility at last.

But after all, he had managed to allow his brother a little bit closer, allowed himself to put the tiniest bit of trust in him.

Then the alert went off.

A ship had appeared right in front of them. It wasn’t overly big, just a K-Ship like the Ravagers used. Still, it interrupted their schedule. And their moment.

For once he was able to be honest at least to himself, he had no idea if he would have been able to talk to his brother, tell him… well, probably not. Most likely he could not. He could not even tell himself.

They arrived at control the moment the other ship made contact. The screens flickered and showed mostly white noise. Again. They definitely had some problems here and there. He looked over the others gathered around in the ship. They hadn’t been on here very long, not much chance to assess what they had and to repair any damages.

Hell, they weren’t even all cleaned up from the fight. The Hulk had turned down again and he was happy about that. He wondered who had been able to talk him down though.  The raging beast was the last thing they could use right now even if Banner looked a little frayed on the edges.  Maybe for him, it had been better to be hidden away within the beast than having to deal with this.

The voices coming from the speakers sounded frazzled and metallic. Seeing that no one made any move to improve the communication he sighed and got to it. It either seemed they were still too shaken to think practical or it was his typical luck and he really was the most skilled technician on board.

If that was the case, they might be all doomed. He might know his way around the more common technic as far as he found it useful but he always found it much more fascinating to explore his own magic. Besides illusions, mind magic and tricks, he had focused mainly on healing of all things. His mother’s influence he guessed. Not that he really had the mind of a healer though but it had come handy, for him so far. Maybe it was time to offer though he mused, right now it might not even be seen as another weakness, even more humiliating than his other traits and talents…

All of a sudden the monitors came alive and the voice became clear. He saw the appreciating nod of his brother and no, he definitely didn’t feel good about this.

Nope, not in the slightest.

A look at the monitors made him freeze. It seemed as if everything came to a halt right then.

A thrown together looking crew was greeting his eyes. There were enough to wonder about when he saw a talking animal from a species he’d never seen, a grey alien from the unnamed people, a human looking man, a half-grown flora colossus and an antenna bearing woman but what made him stop was the Zehoberei.

Gamora.

His breath stopped and he felt ice running through his veins.

Gamora.

How? How could that be? How could she be here of all places? Why here? Why now? He trembled without realizing it. He was paralyzed. He saw the mouths of the others moving, realized they were speaking but he couldn’t fucking move. His mind was ripped open, her mere sight broke down the carefully crafted barriers which had held his memories in check, had enabled him to maintain his facade, not so much for the others who didn’t care anyway but for his own sake, for his own sanity.

Gamora.

She hadn’t seen him yet, if he could just move, just get out of here. She turned. She looked at him.

It was over.

Silent tears streamed down his face when the raging madness started to rise, started to consume him all over again and still, he was frozen on the spot. She stayed silent, only her eyes widened for a moment. Then she looked away. Pretending not to have seen him. He had to warn his brother, warn the others.

Gamora. Thanos daughter. Thanos.

Thanos.

He didn’t see how he startled everyone when he finally just fled the room.

 

Thor hadn’t seen his brother’s first reaction. He had been completely immersed what those self-declared ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ had to say. They came in the name of the Nova Corps, offering an alternative to Terra. Of course Nova Prime didn’t think it to be a good idea to wage the advanced Asgardians onto a planet-bound species who didn’t even have the means to venture out of their solar system on their own. The only reason they hadn’t intervened before was because … well, Asgard being Asgard. But now they were fugitives and obviously, that dimmed any respect other races had.

Who cares that the Asgardians had a long time relationship with the Terrans? Their cultures were already intertwined!

When Loki darted out of the room without any warning he was startled to say the least. Loki again, what was he up to now?

Thor turned and called out to him.

“Loki! What the…”

But his brother was gone. He felt deep annoyance again. Whenever he thought he might now be at the brink of understanding his brother always changed the course.

He would not run after him right now. He turned back to apologize when his eyes met with those of the Zehoberei woman. She threw him such a knowing look that he wondered what he had missed. Thor shook the unpleasant interruption of his shoulders. This had time to be dealt with later. This time, Loki had nowhere to run. They were in the middle of nothing. He could only space himself and he doubted even his crazy brother could be that crazy. It might not kill him but floating around into nothing could not be what he desired.

They agreed that the others would board the ship and they would talk about possible options. The M-ship docked and the so-called Guardians came aboard.

 

 

“You can’t seriously believe that Terra of all places would be the most welcoming place to settle down!” argued the man called Quill for the x-th time. I mean, I am from Terra, I am half Terran and still, even I don’t want to go back to this place!”

He sat back with a huff and crossed his arms unaware of the disbelieving looks he got from his teammates.

“That’s something I never understood.” Gamora ditched in, “on one hand, you’re always going on and on about how great your culture is and then you always find excuses not to go there. Right now you’re urging others not to go there…”

He turned and stared at her in disbelieve.

“Really?” he forced out. “That’s not the time now, we have a mission…”

“Yeah we have, and the reasons we were given are perfectly sensible. Those people should take Nova Corps on their offer. But if Thor wants to see his friends why can’t we take him? He was there before and you could visit…”

“I said no!” Quill stayed stubborn. “Besides I’m only…” He stopped himself and turned away.

“Where’s rocket?” he asked.

“Repairing the ship.” Thor and Gamora replied at the same time.

“Beside the point,” Gamora went on, “don’t try to deflect! You didn’t answer my question! Why can’t we…”

They were interrupted by a loud bang and an angered voice barely dulled by several doors accompanied by a shriek that sounded suspiciously like a very panicking Mantis. Before anyone could react Drax simply barged through the next door ready to destroy anybody who might be threatening his friends. After a very short exchange of looks, all of them followed suit. 

They didn’t have to go far, the first thing they saw was Drax flying out of an almost empty cargo room in a sparkle of green arcane power. He looked furious but much more cautious as well.

When they rounded the corner their look fell upon a terrified Mantis cowering in front of a totally enraged Loki. The trickster literally threw sparks.

“How you dare!” He roared, his voice shaking in raw anger. “How you dare to intrude my privacy! How you dare to invade my….” The movement of their arrival made him spin around in an instant. The second his eyes fell on Gamora though he just… went out. It was as if any strength and energy were sucked right out of him. He froze and his face showed a picture of utter terror.

She turned away in shame.

“What’s going on here?” Thor had found his voice first. He stepped in front of his brother who flinched back. The Asgardian who had made a move to grab his brother’s shoulders stopped in his tracks.

His brother never flinched. He carefully stepped closer to the other, taking in the unusual sight of a creature near the brink of a breakdown in the disguise of his brother. His overconfidence had vanished. All shields were taken down.

“It’s me.” The voice was barely audible. Gamora had spoken but she didn’t look up.

“What did you do?” Thor demanded now. She looked up, Loki was still frozen on the spot and the shivers running through his body masked the shaking of his head. The panic drowned the begging in his eyes.

She looked from him to Thor and realized. Loki hadn’t told anyone. She should not talk. But another look at Thor made her realize, she might not have this choice.

“I was there,” she stated calmly, “I was there with him when they…”

“NO!” Loki had found his voice. “You don’t …. You can’t! It didn’t happen! I WON’T LET IT HAPPEN!!” He lunged forward but his brother caught him.

“I demand to know what’s going on here!” he thundered. Loki went limp in his arms. A look of pure hopelessness captured his face.

Gamora looked back at them. She really wished she could stop now but she had to talk. If any of this should ever have a halfway good ending, she had to take responsibility.

“I was still my father’s favourite executioner when they brought in your brother.” She said. “I was overseeing his ‘persuasion’.”

She looked into Thor’s eyes and straightened herself. “I orchestrated his torture, Thanos wanted me to absolutely make sure he…” and with that, she nodded towards the now sagging trickster, “would fulfil his part of the bargain and get him what he demanded. I was the one to ensure his absolute truthfulness and loyalty.”

She stepped closer despite Thor’s murderous look and caught Loki’s eyes. “His cunning and courage earned his escape from Thanos clutches. Seeing he could escape his enslavement inspired me to try and escape myself.”

Loki straightened a bit and looked back into her eyes. When she was sure he was truly listening to her she went on.

“I’ve always wanted to thank you. You gave me the courage to leave. To fight. You showed me it could be done. No one would have believed anyone could defy Thanos until you did. You lead his whole army into a battle they could not win. You knew you would lose yourself but still, you escaped.”

She looked around.

“Thanos is coming. He didn’t get what he wanted when he send Loki to Terra but that doesn’t mean he’ll give up! He’ll be hunting the infinity stones and we need to distribute all powers where they are needed. The Asgardians would be invaluable when it comes to defending the infinity stone Nova Corps protects. We need to go to warn Terra.”

When she looked from one to the others her Teammates felt the urge to stand up again and stand in a circle. She knew them so well she could see it in their eyes and it made her smile.

“We all need to be ready when Thanos’ endgame begins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The battle between Nova Corps and Thanos' fleet would have deserved its own epic film!  
> I was angered it was done away within an accessory sentence.


	4. Guardians meet Tony Stark et al.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians come to Earth...

Quill stood alone in a corner of the Benatar stored away in the docking clamps of the Quadrant. Sometimes he really missed the Milano. The Benatar hat lovely features and was a fine ship but still, the Milano had been his first love. He smiled at the pun no one got but him.

They were on their way back to Earth. On their way…

Home?

He didn’t feel like he was going home. He felt as if he was doomed to be dragged to hell. He couldn’t explain why that was or how it happened but for a long time now he didn’t dare to think of Earth as home.

He wondered, would pops still be alive? Would he be able to see him? How would people react to him? What would be the same? What would have changed? And most important: would he even be able to call this world his home anymore?

Somebody cleared his throat quietly to gain his attention. He slowly turned around and stood face to face with the first human being he had seen in more than two decades. He had managed to avoid this man so far but now he had him cornered.

“What do you want?” He didn’t feel especially friendly right now and the other had come uninvited. Even so, he cringed internally at his own harshness. This was not how he wanted to be.

The other man came closer slowly. 

“I just thought you might want some little update on how it was going the last time I was on earth.” The man stated quietly. Quill took in the sight. The man looked haggard, somewhat forlorn. The greying hair and nervous ticks making him look older on first sight than he probably was looking closer.

But his gentle brown eyes looked sympathetic and likeable. He smiled at the Star-Lord. “Of course whatever I could tell you is already outdated for about two years so I’ve been told.”

Quill tilted his head in rising curiosity. “How so? How could you not know how long you’ve been away from Earth?”

“Well,” the other looked extremely abashed all of a sudden, “one could say I wasn’t quite myself.”

“Ok earthling, now you got me hooked. Spill it! I’ve just learned I’m half gorgeous half planet, can you top that?”

The older man grinned. “Oh, you bet.” He said.

He rummaged through his bag and showed him some data crystals he had pilfered. Together they fed the data to the Benatar’s system and Quill watched in awe as a green overly big rage monster in some kind of a gladiators get up stormed over the little screen.

“That’s you?” he asked.

“Yep!” The other replied now smirking.

“Wooow, that’s awesome!” Quill leaned closer to the screen and replayed the scene. Banner looked at him thoughtfully. “Seeing people in space react the Hulk might have been more welcome around space than at home. Maybe I should have gone sooner. Maybe…”

He stopped and looked away. Peter poked him in the arm. “Care to tell? What happened? You being an experiment like Rocket?”

Banner sighed. “Something like that. But I have to admit, there’s no one to blame but me.”

Peter looked at him and demonstratively sat down on the floor with crossed legs. “I’m all ears. I tell mine if you tell yours.”

Bruce smiled at the man and sat down, leaning back at the ship’s hull.

“Why not. It’s not as if I have much to do anyway.”

So they told each other their stories and it put things into perspective. Quill felt a lot better now, having talked with a human and realizing how much the world had changed.

“Hey Bruce,” he started, “or do I have to call you doctor Banner now?” Bruce merely chuckled.

“It seems to me if people can accept a genius turning into a barely controlled rage monster, maybe they could play be and let be with a half human half Celestial could they?”

Bruce looked thoughtful. “It depends whom you meet first really. They accepted a lot of different people lately though.”

“So would you say my people are safe? Am I safe?” Quill prodded further.

“Yeah probably.” Banner turned to see him eye to eye, “and if not I got the feeling you are a pretty formidable opponent if someone decides to make problems.”

 

The team reacted very positively of the sudden improvement of their leader’s mood. They were much tighter knitted now, after the incident with Ego. They knew where they stood. A disruption like Quill becoming all bratty was affecting them all.

Far too soon they reached Earth and it was decided that Bruce was the best choice to announce their arrival.

Indeed it didn’t take long for the addressed party to respond. A quirky and energetic face filled the screen.

“Bruce!” the man exclaimed, “what a surprise! I dearly missed you but coming back in a spaceship? How did you manage to get outta space? The Hulk nowadays able to jump planets?”

Bruce laughed. “No Tony, I’m afraid the situation is a bit more complicated. Could you make some arrangements so we could land? We have been cooped up in here for a while now and we bring important intel for you. Should we come to Stark Tower?”

“Nawwww, not there, I don’t be there anymore.” The other stated. While taking in the stunned expression of his friend Tony added: “I see you really haven’t been around for the past year, I’ll send you the coordinates and arrange a meeting for you and your friends. We have a new Avengers compound. I guess you couldn’t come down with something a bit… smaller?”

Bruce looked questioningly at Quill who nodded silently. Tony had not failed to realize that Bruce had communicated with someone off screen but decided to tame his curiosity.

“Yeah we’re coming down with another ship, this one will stay in orbit. But Tony?” The engineer raised his brows questioningly. “See to it that you keep the control freaks in check. The people I’m with will not react well to being threatened. I guess you might even…loose if you try.”

Stark contemplated this for a moment. “You’ll be with them if that happens?”

Bruce hesitated barely a second, then he had made up his mind. He didn’t know these people, but he had a good feeling. And there was Thor too.

“Yes Tony, I’ll be with them.”

To his surprise, Tony just grinned at him. “Hell if that’s not enough of a recommendation for me!”

 

 

The closer Earth came the antsier Quill felt. It was as if an almost tangible force pressed against his skin. He had stayed oddly quiet during the first contact. Now he stood as far in the back of the ship as he could get. What was wrong with him? He had thought he had overcome most of his insecurities while talking to Bruce but now it was even worse. It could not just be insecurity and anticipation, could it? Could he of all people really be that damned labile?

He huffed and decided it would be time to board the Benatar, no way would he let Rocked pilot this thing when they were landing on his home planet.

This discussion he’d managed to win at least.

He was proud that all of his friends trusted him enough to come with him. He even wanted them at his side, not that he would admit it. Thor had even dragged Loki from the cabin he had been hiding in since Gamora and Thor had made it clear that they needed all intel they could get for preparation and he had to report extensively if he wanted revenge against Thanos. Grudgingly he had agreed but since then he was mad as a bathed cat and no one desired to stay in his company longer as necessary. The Valkyrie named Brunnhilde had agreed to stay with the surviving Asgardians helping them settle on one of Xandar’s moons together with Heimdall. It was a very generous offer the Nova Corps had made possible and they knew it. Even Thor had seen reason at the end, this way his people would stay in touch not only with their heritage but could keep up their deeds within the nine realms.

Far too soon Quill released the docking clamps of the Quadrant and piloted his ship on a gentle descent to Earth. Looking at the blue-green globe he felt a sudden sting in his heart. She was so beautiful! He glanced sideways and saw the same awe on Banner's face.

Home.

But besides that not so unsurprising feeling there was something else as well.

A strange pulling, a force like magnetism driving him forwards so he had to force himself to descent slowly,  a strange, burning sensation within his body… bothered he shook that away, he had to concentrate right now.

They landed in front of a formidable compound crowned with a gigantic ‘A’ of all things. The surroundings were lovely and Teen-Groot even got drawn from his silly toy to look at the water and the trees surrounding the buildings.

“I am Groot!” he declared.

“Later” Rocket reprimanded. “Let’s see first if the natives are friendly, then you can have a bath.”

“I AM Groot!” the stubborn creature insisted.

“We don’t even know if you COULD drink that!” Rocket snarled, “could be poisonous as far as we know! You could wither from that before you’re even really in bloom, you want that?”

“I am Groot” was foreseeable if subdued reply. Groot had given in for once. What a relieve, they were making progress.

Quill landed the ship so gently even Rocket had nothing to comment. He opened the hatch and sighed.

“Well then, here we go.” With that he turned to step out of the ship first and just for once, no one protested.

It was almost too boring.

Outside a circle of important and alert looking people stood around in a loose circle. He looked at the sunglasses covered eyes of his ‘opponents’ and gifted them with his widest grin.

“Hey there”, he greeted, “what’s new Pussycats?”

One of the people sighed and hid his face in his hand while others rolled their eyes.

“Oh no, not another one of those.” He uttered.

The man he had seen talking to Bruce on the screen stepped forwards and took off his sunglasses. A boyish grin appeared on his face when he took them all in.

“Whoa-oh-oh!” he replied and earned an even wider grin in return while it was now time for the Guardians to moan.

Drax was the one to speak out what they all thought:

“And I had thought Quill was just an irrational exceptional case.”

While Stark and Quill were still grinning at each other like madmen, the rest of both entourages looked slightly relaxed. Maybe there was some common ground after all.

Even if this meant they were led by idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...because! Duh!


	5. Sorcerer Supreme meets Star Lord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter get's on a trip and meets not just a sorcerer but also his destiny.

The debriefing of the Guardians was nothing short of silly.

After they finally managed to get inside it became clear that those two groups, earth fraction versus odd aliens didn’t have much common ground. Their expectations and ideas how things should be handled were clashing in every aspect.

For Quill it was hard to find back into a society were a qualification on paper had so much weight after him growing up as an outlaw no one asked how especially he had learned what he knew. He also realized soon that he and his team with their history of petty and not so petty crimes could far easier adapt to accepting Loki’s good intentions than the others. Strangely it was Gamora who made even getting started possible by pointing out that she had done much more harm in her lifetime than Loki could even hope to do. She pointed out that if they could believe her despite she’d aided genocide they should also listen to him since it was possible he saved more than he killed. This relaxed the situation somehow. With a hard look, she gave up all her knowledge first without Loki close so the agents would have a frame of reference with which they could judge the worth of what the trickster had to say.

It was hard to hear what she had done in her time as Thanos’ stepdaughter but he realized it didn’t diminish his view of her in the slightest.

He realized he’d have a hard time gaining respect around here. He didn’t have much to brag about.

Watching the debriefing of Loki was a hard thing to do. Mantis hesitantly offered her help and after a very furious look, Loki accepted to everyone’s surprise but insisted on being bound in case her intervention would trigger undesired side effects. He sweated when Mantis positioned her hands on his temples to invade and manipulate his mind.

It came as a surprise when she didn’t just tear down his inner walls which kept him from talking the full truth but his outer glamour as well.

Seeing him as he really was, skin icy blue and eyes red, alienated them even more and with Mantis as a bridge, holding his own powers in check and reporting everything she did or learned he had to take the full brunt of their raw emotions unshielded. Quill only felt sympathy at this point just as he had with Gamora despite everything he knew about the man and he was grateful that he didn’t project anything worse.

Then he didn’t simply tell them what he had experienced during his time with Thanos, he relived it. His body frozen on the chair he was chained to, Mantis manipulating his powers they found themselves surrounded by a vision of what had happened to him from Loki’s point of view. The ghost-like universe surrounding him when he fell, the broken terror, his bloody hands appearing before his view when he crawled over the barren surface where  ‘The Other’ had found him on.

Then the torture, the healing, the torture, the healing, going on and on till he begged to be allowed to serve.

His actual enslavement, how they had roped him in, his feelings when he was manipulated while manipulating himself, the secret plotting hidden in his broken persona in part even from himself.

They could see it and as more as they’d gotten attuned to Mantis powers which grew leeching from Loki’s powers as well they could even feel after a while what he had felt. The craziness, the grandeur and narcissism which hid a deeply disturbed and self-loathing personality. The bitterness and the thirst for triumph, for success, for … acknowledgement.

The desperation caused by the need to accomplish a win that would mean a defeat. He had planned meticulously, deceiving himself first of all. The split personalities. The feel of slipping into insanity. Being the one who tried to disprove to be a monster by becoming an even bigger one.

Loki was not a nice guy. He was twisted and poisonous and bitter. But on the other hand he’d never had a chance. Right now he saw another opportunity to make himself grand. His brother had shown it to him. Following his brother's suggestion was a way out of being split, a way to be grand on his own terms, being desirable for what he is and not what he thought he was supposed to believe.

He wanted revenge on Thanos almost more than anything else, but even more he wanted to be somebody.

Being so far removed from himself had made him a sociopath, his own feelings so different from others without having an explanation for it had deemed all other beings irrelevant. He had raged in his greed for grandeur, in his desperate try to eradicate everything that might diminish him and it had destroyed any idea of self-preservation. After a while he had lived only to outshine his stepbrother, beating the expectations of Odin with an obsession which the latter had unwittingly fuelled. Accepting himself as what he was and realizing his ‘father’ hadn’t intended to make him feel like being the second choice brought him back on track, put his feelings and perceptions into perspective.

He was still dangerous, but now he at least wasn’t insane anymore. 

When it was over and Loki regained enough control to renew his glamour, their eyes met. Quill smiled at him full of respect. In his opinion, the other had done remarkably well considering the circumstances.

Nonetheless, Loki almost fled onto the Benatar and wasn’t to be seen for the unforeseeable future. Peter didn’t think he’d acted any different had his innermost memories been projected for everybody not just to see but to feel as well. It had even been possible to record the visual part of the ordeal, Stark and others were now sifting through the footage searching for clues and hard facts about Thanos assets.

He had used the distraction the major impact of Loki’s raw feelings had created to sneak away and research on his grandfather.

He was impressed how far technology had developed since he’d been taken away. He had mixed feelings when he found out that pops were still alive. He still lived in St. Charles, Missouri and had barely survived the expanse. His statement as somebody to be barely spared was in Stark’s databank.  

The reports about him going missing were there as well.

Now he stood at the windows facing the Benatar pondering if and how he could get out and pay his pops a visit. He asked himself whether or not it was a good thing to go as well. He held the prints he created, unconsciously crumpling them in his hand when Gamora stepped at his side.

“I think you should go.” She stated matter of factly.

“Go where?” he replied. She just smiled gently and pressed his cold fingers with her warm hand.

“You should go where your hearts already went right now.”

He smiled at her and went to look for somebody to ask how and if he might possibly get to Missouri.

In the end it had cost him a lengthy argument and the threat to simply take his ship and his crew to go there and make a scene till they’d given him what he needed to go where he wanted. A nice enough guy named Hogan was put in charge of transport and babysitting. After initial stiffness and awkwardness they finally found some common ground, they started joking on board the private jet Stark had generously provided and went on in the car drive to the old farmhouse his granddad owned.

With all the distraction Quill barely registered the pulling feeling becoming stronger and stronger. He put it down to anticipation to see his Grandfather at first. The closer they came the stronger the feeling got till he could almost pinpoint a location he was drawn too.

Only when they turned into the dusty road leading to the farm he got a hunch it might not have anything to do with pops. It pulled him very strongly now to a different direction. This time it cost him a lot more energy to shove it aside.

Now they sat in silence next to each other, he and the man he was now allowed to call ‘Happy’. He had no idea how to proceed now.

The other one looked straight ahead and Peter was grateful he didn’t push him, didn’t talk. He had only known him for about an hour and already found him very agreeable. He had even only half-jokingly invited him to an adventure on the Benatar.

His heart made a jump when the front door opened and an old man stepped outside, shadowing his eyes and warily watching the black limousine standing at his gates.

Quill swallowed hard. This was definitely his grandfather. The rough figure had aged well. Even in his late eighties, he looked sturdy and agile. His hair had gone white and his hands looked gnarly even in the distance, his face had become a bit more rounded, the skin a little sagged but his no-nonsense lifestyle had served him well.

Happy wordlessly moved out and went around the limousine to open the door when the old man moved closer. Peter sat in the car, eyes fixated on the approaching figure and cowardly hiding beneath the tinted windows. He had faced alien monsters, the Black Aster, gone into a dance battle with a raging madman, had fought the Sovereigns, an infinity stone, vacuum, Rocket and a living planet among others but now he was frozen in fear when facing the idea of meeting an old man.

Happy just stood there and looked at him with deep sympathy in his eyes. His grandfather had stopped just outside his gates, right in front of the car, watching the man smelling like government or agency holding the door and staring inside. His face displayed an unreadable mix of emotions. All of a sudden he looked fragile as if he had a hunch of what was to come. Shaking Quill set his foot outside the car. He shivered like a branch when getting up and out. He had his back to the old man, he could not turn around, could not face him. What if Pops didn’t believe him, what if the other simply refused him as his grandchild? What if he hated him for being away for so long? The reason he had been away was that he’d been abducted by aliens. How was he supposed to tell that without sounding like a complete lunatic? Pleadingly he looked at Happy who just cocked his head and closed the door, moving around the car to get back inside.

He had dressed up in his full Ravagers gear, coat and all, trying to look as impressive and big as possible, he had even intimidated anybody enough so no one had taken his equipment, but now he felt naked. He bent his neck, closed his eyes and took a deep breath when he heard the shuffling of approaching feet.

Shaking he opened his eyes and looked up right into the old face he didn’t really know anymore and which was still so familiar.

His Grandfather’s questioning looks slowly changed when he looked him into the eyes. A single tear escaped him and his voice shook when he spoke.

“You!” he forced out, “Do I know you? Wh-who are you?”

“I-“the mighty Star Lord found himself at a loss of words. He swallowed dryly.

“It’s me, Peter.” He finally stated quietly while looking firmly into his granddad’s eyes.

His grandfather simply stared at him for a while. Then a shaky and insecure smile crept upon his face. “Yes,” he managed to say, “yes, I can see that.”

It had been a real snooze feast in the kitchen later. His grandfather had insisted to call his uncle and aunt as well and they had come after a while, Happy a quiet and smiling shadow in the background, sipping ice tea and his unobtrusive presence the only hint he had to be back at the compound later that day. He was half alien, they would not let him wander around and having night outs just now, even if it was his own family he was visiting. He felt a bit miffed about that but he had given his word for peace’s sake and after all, he had so much as forced his time here already. But he and Happy were in silent agreement that later that day could be…very late.

“I really can’t believe you have been abducted by aliens!” his uncle exclaimed for the umpteenth time again when pops simply looked back. “How can you believe that dad?” he exclaimed to his father.

“Well,…” the older Quill hesitated. “I saw it happening.”

All of a sudden they fell silent altogether. Peter was the first one to react.

“You saw it? How?”

The old man tried to say something, swallowed and then started again.

“When your mother died… well, I had thrown you out, but she was undeniably dead. There was nothing I could give my little girl, nothing I could do for her.  She was out of reach for me now and the only thing left was you. So I followed you as soon as I realized that I had done the exact opposite of what she had made me promise before. Instead of taking care of you I had shoved you aside.”

He shook a little and rubbed his eyes with his hand before he went on.

“But when I reached outside all I saw was you being pulled up in the air towards that ship and your screams have followed me into my dreams all the time since then.”

Everyone stayed silent after that. It was his aunt who spoke first this time.

“That explains it.” She said. Now all eyes were on her. “We were all looking for you, we put up leaflets, we annoyed the police, there was no trace of you, dad said he had seen you being taken but he couldn’t give a description. He went on with us, with the search but I always had the feeling he was just going through the motions. As if he wasn’t really into it.”

His uncle just stared at his hands.

Peter cleared his throat, “well, it’s not as if you could have done anything.” He stated. “The moment you started searching I was very far away from earth.”

“What did they take you for?” Again it was his uncle to ask the dangerous question. He stubbornly looked at Happy who didn’t look that happy now. He knew what was coming. He knew he shouldn’t do this but he had seen what denying one's heritage had done to Loki, he would not go down that path of lies. So he let the bomb drop.

“It’s because my father wanted them to fetch me and bring me to him as soon as my mother was dead.”

Again they stared at him. It was his grandfather again who spoke first. “So it was all true in a way? The things she told us?”

Peter looked aside. “In a fashion.” He stated. Looking back at them he went on: “It’s complicated.”

It hurt to tell them what really happened, who he really was and what his father had done. His grandfather was still shaken when he remembered the day Ego’s expansion had nearly swallowed him and the cousin he hadn’t even met yet and the fact that it was Peters father who had caused the loss of his daughter almost devastated him. But in the end, Peter truly felt at home. His family accepted him, believed him. Happy’s presence making his statements so much more official didn’t hurt either.

At last, he got to say goodbye without bad feelings, promising to come back as soon as they let him.

It wasn’t until they were on their way back to the runway and the waiting jet Peter felt the strange pulling feeling again. This time it was so overwhelmingly strong he could not suppress a moan.

“Hey in there!” Happy bend over and looked at him while waiting on a red light. “You all right?”

“Hmmm, dunno, not sure.” Quill managed to reply. They were now heading in the direction his inner magnet seemed to be pulled towards. With that the pull became almost unbearable. “I got a strange feeling there’s someplace I should be.” He looked up at Happy with something like desperation showing in his features now. “Would you mind if we took a little detour? It won’t be far.”

Happy was thoroughly unhappy now. The other man had been so approachable and normal he had liked him. Of course, in a cerebral way, Happy had been aware that Peter wasn’t exactly the common guy next door but while he was boisterous and a bit ‘Tony’ on one side he was generous, forgiving and good-natured on the other. He had behaved in a nice contrast to all those over boarding superhumans and heroes around him so Happy had simply forgotten why he was supposed to accompany him.

Now the man looked strained and there was an alien glint in his eyes. For the first time Happy realized he was out of his league with this one too and that no one had realized this before. The formerly so friendly and funny person had turned into something strange and slightly sinister.

His first impulse was to get away from wherever the other desired to go but he didn’t dare to go against the man. His whole posture had changed and he didn’t want to risk a confrontation so far.

His opinion changed when the directions Quill gave him to follow lead him directly into the restricted zone.

Here it had happened not so long ago that a strange mass nobody was able to stop or even identify had emerged without any warning. He didn’t know exactly what had happened but he knew it had been bad. Soon they came close to the base and he really felt he should turn but one look at the Star-Lord he knew it was too late. The eyes of the other had turned a bright, electric glowing blue. Little flashes and sparks played around the other's body. He spoke monotone and commanding. It was as if he were in trance. The energy dancing around his body looked exactly like the formless mass that had destroyed everything in its wake.

Oh god, he really had fucked up.

“Peter?” he tried against better judgement, “Peter what’s happening?”

The man turned to him and he saw the desperation in the other’s eyes.

“It didn’t die with him!” Tears streamed down the other man’s face. They had come to a halt in front of the gates and Happy could hear voices exclaiming close by, there was a ruckus and the guards had left their posts. The blue glow was emanating on the other side of the walls as well as from Quill.

“What Quill, what didn’t die and with whom?” he asked although he had a hunch what the other was talking about. He had heard the story not an hour ago.

“I have to go,” Quill stated. “If I don’t go and stop it…” his voice died down and he left the car. Whit firm, determined strikes he simply walked forwards, the energy field reached out for him. It simply dissolved the walls and barriers in his way. Happy could see the soldiers and agents running around, their equipment dissolving in their hands, but he realized with relief that it seemed as if the energy didn’t harm the people themselves. Maybe Peter had some control over what was happening anyways.

 

He followed carefully, giving the man a wide berth. To his surprise, all he could see in the centre of the energy mass was a very pretty, very alien flower.

 

Its glowing roots were reaching deep into the earth and as soon as Quill reached it, some glowing appendages reached out for him. The man was openly crying now.

He looked down onto the flower and spoke again. “NO!” he exclaimed. “You can’t have that! Stop it!” The vines creeping away turned their path and started burying into Quill. He shook his head in denial.

“No please no! I can’t…” he made a move to step back, step away from the plant and as soon as he did the spreading of the energy became more forceful again. Hogan could now feel a slight burn like beginning destruction on his skin. Before he could react or do anything, an orange glow appeared out of nothing and a very impressive figure stepped out of the materialized portal.

The man looked as if he had been summoned from a fairy-tale. He was the picture of a wise wizard coming to the rescue from the sophisticated grey tinged hairstyle to the mystical looking blue robes, the dark yellow gloves and the flowing red cape stitched with intricate patterns flowing in a non-existent breeze. He withstood the energy mass without blinking. Firmly he reached over the flower grabbing Peter’s shoulders, effectively stopping him from running away.

“I hear it too.” The deep baritone was soothing and firm. “But it’s not mine to tame, it’s yours. I could see your energies swinging in sync for a while now but I could not pinpoint what was about to happen or where. As soon as you stepped foot on this planet the decision was made though. This is your bequest, your energy. You HAVE to take it on!”

Quills eyes looked broken now. “I can’t! It’s too strong, it will devour me! It will make me…”

“No!” the denial from the other man was firm and absolutely sure. “It can’t do anything to you. It’s just energy, it needs a vessel but it has no mind. It can’t break you if you do not resist. It will be yours if you accept it.”

A sad smile appeared on Quill’s face. “You know it will chain me.”

The other squeezed Peter’s shoulders sympathetically. “Do you really wish to sacrifice everything, even your own life, just to stay carefree and unbound? Is the prize you’ll have to pay really too much to ask to save the world you’ve been born to? Is it too much to pay for your friend's lives?”

Peter cast his eyes down. He looked resigned now. “I’d do anything for them.”

“Then prove it!” The stranger demanded. “You know what you have to do. You can feel it.”

Without any more hesitation, Peter kneeled down and let himself be devoured by the plant. It latched onto him hungrily, buried deep inside him, for a moment he looked as if it had replaced him. The glow reaching inside the earth became stronger and a low rumble run through the surface. It wasn’t quite an earthquake, more a content shiver.

The burning subsided, the touch of the glow was now warm and pleasant. Beginning from the alien flower vegetation started to sprout as if welcoming the man’s sacrifice and turning it into life. Soon the flower wilted away, the glow subsided until it was just Quill again sitting among the explosion of plant life which had sprouted around him. Happy and the personnel which had been stationed to examine the plant that had cost so many lives could do nothing but stare at the two figures in their midst. Their weapons, technology, even the car and the buildings were gone as if they had never existed.

With a huff, the stranger pulled a mobile from his pocket, how he had managed to preserve it was anybody’s guess.

“I’m afraid this’s one of the situations that call for the promised collaboration.” He stated to no one in particular. He pressed a few buttons on the old fashioned phone and then held it to his ear. Happy and the others had now time to fully take in the absolutely absurd picture of what looked like a full-blown mystic, looking skywards in annoyance while pressing an old Nokia to his ear. If that would not have been maddening enough the first sentence the other uttered as soon as his connection established gave Happy the creeps.

 

“Hello Mr Stark here’s Dr Strange, we have to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone also gets the impression those are not as disconnected as I planned them to be?


	6. Strange meets the others

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now Strange can't hide from the others anymore.

Loki sat alone in the darkest corner he could find on the Benatar and gloomed.

The experience of sharing his innermost intentions had been the worst ordeal ever in his life and he could clearly feel that Mantis had manipulated him. She had changed him. He could not pinpoint how or in which way but it was there. The sharing had not been one way. While she had channelled his memories, he had connected to her too. So now he knew: she hadn’t done it intentionally. It was mere … kindness. She had smoothed out some parts of him, calmed his rage not even able to realize how he had nurtured those parts and said rage. Her desire to please and to help, to be useful had touched him and now the remnants burned inside his persona like gentle poison. He tried to feel dirty and violated but he couldn’t. The remaining pieces of her relativized this need and showed him how self-destructive it was.

She had done it to protect him from himself out of sheer mercy.

The thought made him sick, bud then the calm Mantis had manifested inside his brain made him feel appreciated, grateful and overall just good.

It was very… disconcerting to say the least. He sighed. However unsettling her touch might have been and the changes she had unwittingly forced onto him the new feelings also reigned in his festering insanity and cleared his thoughts as well. He had never been so much in control of his thoughts and his mind before. Things that had enraged him and let his thoughts run in circles seemed petty now. Things he was ashamed of had now less weight, he also saw their usefulness more clearly now. If he wanted he would be able to harness much more of him than ever before.

He didn’t really know if this were his own thoughts or new ones delivered from her influence but he did realize if he let it become part of himself he would become stronger in the end. He saw that she hadn’t taken anything from him but merely given him the tools to master his own weaknesses.

Maybe it was a good thing. The trickster didn’t have to like it though.

He had sat here and brooded for a while now he had no idea how long he’d been here to be honest, nor did it interest him. What had shaken him out of his self-reflection was a build-up in this world’s energy. While analysing the feeling he realized it had been there for a while now but subtle, unthreatening so far.

But now it had risen. A strong wave of raw energy surged through the whole planet. He reached out with his own energies to connect and what he found made him jump up and hurry out. All his former brooding forgotten just now.

He reached outside the moment the energy surge peaked. A low tremble run through the planet, it was more like a satisfied purr really, then he felt the awakening of a conscience all around him. The planet itself had gained consciousness? No, this wasn’t a new mind it was…

Oh no. Not that one.

The next moment people started to run outside, important looking men and woman ran around talking into different communication devices.

It was Stark though who at least seemed to have an inch of control. He still held his phone in his hand and with the Guardians and a not so little entourage in tow he marched straight towards the fastest means of transportation close by. The Brentano.

Loki pulled back inside, no way would he let this get by him, he had to see how it could have happened that all of a sudden the whole planet felt like one Peter Jason Quill.

The man called Rhodes was keeping up with Stark despite the harness covering his lower body, as soon as they came close enough Loki realized he was demanding answers.

“Who is this guy and why can he simply call you and you come I’m asking!”

He insisted. “I’m your military liaison and you agreed to work with me! You promised you would not keep any more secrets!”

He really looked pissed now.

“I told you, there was no other way!” Stark looked defeated. He held up a hand and stopped another tirade. “I know how that sounds but I’ve been asked very reasonably for discretion and really, could you trust me ever again if I’d be running around boasting out everything even if I promised to keep it for myself?” The other just snorted easily recognizing the empty rhetoric for what it was.

“Besides, that’s not the point now! We had an energy surge all around the planet, the base around a little flower which almost ate the whole planet has just vanished and an earthquake had everything shaking. I mean everything! Even those parts who should not be able to shake and now Mantis says she can feel Peter everywhere.”

Stark hesitated for a moment before entering the ship, his eyes rested on Loki for a mere moment, then he passed by.

“I guarantee you, that’s nothing good!” Rocket busted out. “You can’t let Peter go anywhere. He always makes a mess.”

Soon they’d all stomped past and he totally enjoyed the shocked faces of the Terrans when none of the Guardians made any move to take the pilot seat but Rocket.

“Well then buckle in comrades!” He howled, “let’s see what he has broken now!”

It wasn’t calming in the least when the racoon kick-started the engines and roared away with a maniacal laughter but Loki realized he didn’t mind the slightest. He guessed he could even start to like the critter.

The full speed the Benatar could muster brought them to their goal in no time.

When they landed they could see some soldiers and agents gathering around Quill, who peacefully sat in the middle of a splendid collection of blooming vegetation. A bit away were the man called Hogan and the sorcerer. A vivid memory of falling into nothing for 30 minutes made Loki moan. This earned him a curious look from Stark followed by a knowing grin.

Thor looked completely enlightened though. “There’s Master Strange! What a good sight!” He exclaimed. Rhodes looked thoughtful back and forth between the sorcerer and Tony now.

Rockets landing was a lot rougher than Quills had looked but Loki got the impression it was not for a lack of talent but because the other simply didn’t care at all.

Soon they left the ship and walked toward the strange scene.

Peter looked nothing short of miserable, the sorcerer absolutely formidable and Mr. Hogan in equal parts ashamed and lost.

“What happened here?” Tony started.

“Well,” the deep voice of the sorcerer hid a faint hint of amusement. “It seems it would have been better you’d started our agreed cooperation by telling me about this place instead of waiting for me to come around first.”

He stepped closer to Stark and looked down on him. “I really hope that guy over there is a nice one, because now he’s become earth.”

This brought them all to halt in an instant.

“P-Pardon me?” Rhodes was first to find his voice. “I might be mistaken but I understood you told us Peter had _become_ earth?”

“Yes,” the sorcerer deadpanned, “that’s what I said, this young man you can see over there is no longer an independent entity but merely an extension of the conscious being our planet has evolved into. And I really hope it’ll be a halfway responsible being we’re living on now.”

The cackling laughter Rocket broke into did nothing to reassure anybody.

Stark boiled over now. “And you let him?” he roared. “What’s that talk about thousand years of protection for this realm and this deep responsibility crap you gave me the other day if you just stood by and let any punk who come running up become earth?”

The sorcerer stayed annoyingly calm. “That’s exactly the reason why I asked for patience and trust. I’d really hoped you’d prove yourself to be the reasonable person you presented yourself and tell me about something like strange energy flowers sprouting on our planet.”

He got a bit more heated while he talked. “All I had as a forewarning was a little tingle, a vague feeling of energies moving toward each other. What should I have told you? OH hello Tony, sorry to call but I have a prickling feeling on my neck, somewhere on the planet might be an energy source and somewhere outta space might be another and it could be they’re moving toward each other!”

He sounded utterly sarcastic now. “I’m pretty sure this would have been helpful.”

“Oh and I was supposed to trust a grown man calling himself a sorcerer whom I’d only met a week prior and who was barely able to brew tea the last time I saw him with all kinds of intel I had no idea might be relevant AT ALL?”

The sorcerer opened his mouth when Rhodes intervened. “Could somebody please tell us what’s happening right now?” He barely restrained his anger. “And Tony! Who is that and why didn’t you tell me that anything happened that made you start a conspiration with a man who declares himself a sorcerer of all things?”

Now tony twisted around and shot at Rhodes. “I tried! I even showed you the footage but you didn’t believe me! You said I should try to prank someone else with my cheap special effects or even better, do something useful with my time.”

Everybody startled when Gamora stepped up and demanded calmly.

“Could that please wait till later? I’d really want to know what happened with Peter.”

Loki looked at her with curiosity. On the outside, she appeared cool and under control but she could not hide the slight trembling of her hands that told the liesmith that she was just pretending. She deeply cared for Quill and desired to see him safe.

“Well,” the sorcerer started, “I don’t know exactly but I felt a very faint energy field growing for a while now. It was very subtle spreading but I could not locate it or find out what exactly it was until today.” He looked back to the sitting figure still staring into nothing. The moment I felt the sudden power surge today and materialized where it had flared up I realized it was a seed. Something or somebody had planted a part of himself on earth a while ago. The seed took root and invaded the whole planet, secretly binding and amassing energy to transform our world into part of whatever had planted it in the first place. That man over there has almost the same energy signatures that thing had and when he stepped onto earth he started the process of transformation.”

His eyes got a pitiful look when Strange remembered how he had found the other. “I don’t believe he knew what would happen though. I doubt he would have come had he known. After the process started it could not be stopped except by someone merging with the energy field who had a mind to control it. Otherwise, the thing would have mindless fulfilled whatever intention had created it. It seemed for a moment this intention was to destroy everything.”

The Guardians faces showed realization at that words. “It’s true,” Gamora whispered. “It was Ego, Quill's father. He was a celestial. He had decided that life was a disturbance and planned to take over the whole universe with himself so he planted seeds everywhere in the universe. He wanted to use Quill to make that happen but we destroyed him. We didn’t know the seeds could have survived.”

They all looked at the sitting man again and Loki surprised himself when he spoke up. “I don’t think any of the others did.” Insecure he looked over to the Sorcerer who had realized his presence now for the first time. The other only nodded though.

“If Loki felt what I did I agree. It seems this thing only survived because there was a connection left. It already had become part of this planet, he is part of this world too. This connection kept it alive and enabled it to amass more energy and hold this planet on the brink of transformation while waiting for its only fitting host to arrive.”

“But what do we do now?” Somebody asked in the background. “How can we reverse this?” Everybody stared at the scientist who had been assigned to research the flower and who looked utterly upset. “I mean, we can let some…dude from outer space just… become earth!”

Strange snickered. “Anybody got any ideas? Hopefully, nothing that involves ‘killing’ his body. It might destroy the whole planet by the way just in case anyone is already considering this. Everything that disturbs his concentration right now might just result in severe destruction all over the world I might add. He’s not used to having a body that big and right now he tries to sort out which part he can move and which should better stand still.”

While everyone stared in horror at the sorcerer Loki sneaked away from them and close to the sitting figure. With a fluid motion, he let himself sink down in front of Peter and looked into his face. Little tremors ran through the immediate radius around the body in front of them but then he managed to lift his head in the slowest motion.

“May I?” Loki inquired and stretched his hands towards the other. Quill gave him the tiniest nod. His eyes were still very blue, the energy barely is hidden behind them. Carefully the trickster god touched the others arms. He remembered the awakening of his own arcane powers, how his mother had guided him, showed him how he could lead and control the powers surging through his body in a way that would not harm himself. He gently let his own energy flow into the others physical form, filling only the part that was right in front of him. His own energy was cool and alien, a stark contrast to the warm power of growth inside the man.

 _‘Can you feel that?’_ Loki sent this thought directly into the other being. Quill nodded a bit steadier now the voice in his head helped him to gather his wits into his old form while staying in contact with the whole. _‘This is the part that can move, this is the old you.’_ Something like gratitude crept into the others face. Carefully, slowly he lifted his hand and twisted his fingers. This time no tremors run through the surface around him.

He turned his head and looked into the mage's eyes. “Thank you.” His voice sounded raw and strange, distorted. “For a moment I thought I would sit here forever.”

When Loki turned he found himself opposite an attack front. Everybody looked at him as if he had just eaten an infant.

“Well, I know I’m not exactly popular here but no one of you could believe that even I would destroy the planet I’m standing on!” He reasoned. “By the way, I have an idea.” The expressions of pure disbelieve were almost comical and before anybody could give him some nonsense he just went on.

“Quill needs somebody to teach him how to control energy flow and learn as much about earth and what it might need as fast as possible so he can start his new carrier as a living planet. I think there are only two people among you who are qualified to do so and since your survival depends on that I believe you two,” with that he pointed towards Stark and Strange, “should pull your heads out of the sand and get to work. Preferably somewhere safe and quiet.”

Everybody looked at him as if he’d turned into a pink unicorn on the spot.

“And what makes that one here an expert in energy fields? Rhodes said sarcastically with a degrading look at Strange.

The Sorcerer Supreme didn’t bat an eye, he simply moved a hand without even looking and opened a portal behind.

“I guess nobody told you what being the Sorcerer Supreme entailed?” he snarled back. With a look at Stark he went on, “I guess Kamar-Taj might be the best choice? Maybe basic training for novices might be a good start.”

Stark hesitated. “Since I have no better idea I guess we’re following reindeer games in this.”

Nobody looked especially thrilled by that thought.


	7. Nova Prime meets some Asgardians

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens on Nova Prime? Let's find out.

Nova Prime had expected the Guardians to come back with the new members of the Nova Empire, of course, that had been too much to hope for.  But at least they had managed to convince the surviving Asgardians to relocate to a planet within the Nova Empire and not some isolated planet which didn’t even have a contact anywhere in the universe. She looked forward to meeting their representative and include them into the empire. There were rumours and concerning news floating around. Since they had found out that it was Thanos who had given his support to Ronan and almost destroyed everything they had strived to accomplish over the last decades she was even more worried then she had been when it was only a phalanx of Ravagers between her and her beloved planet.

And now not just rumours stated that the mad titan himself was on the move again. She felt as if the hidden infinity stone was burning a hole in her back even through the tons of hardened alloys protecting it.

But how much protection could anything really be if Thanos came?

It didn’t take long until Rhomann Dey neared with two Asgardians, the rest hopefully enjoying the first aid and welcome feast the Xandarians had prepared as a warm welcome. The woman and the man looked as impressive as one would expect of Asgardians who never denied if being called gods. But tiredness and dubitation dimmed the impression somewhat.

Well, after all, they had lost their homeworld, hadn’t they?

Nova Prime had tried several times got instigate negotiations between this old race and Nova Empire for some time now but had been rebutted again and again. Who’d know what they might have been able to do, how many more Asgardians might have been able to escape at least if they hadn’t been so goddamn stubborn. She blinked once, the only outer sign of her remarkable self-restraint when she pushed that thought aside. She had not been elected to be the holier-than-thou goodie-two-shoes who pushed others noses onto their mistakes, she was meant to be a diplomat and that’s what she would be.

She donned a genuine smile, let all her honest wishes for mutual benefit overtake her mind and stepped in front of the new arrivals. She definitely planned to present herself as an equal, no way a bit of superior strength and lifespan would deter her even one bit but she didn’t want anybody to doubt her authentic respect either.  Damned if she couldn’t pull that off! She was a carrier politician!

“I am honoured to welcome you on Xandar, the representative home of the Nova Imperium and also welcome in the name of Nova Corps.”

She stepped a bit closer and bowed to both of the others respectfully.  “I am elected Nova Prime, formerly known as Irani Rael.”

The two Asgardians looked at each other, then they bowed too. Then they hesitated again while she waited patiently. After a while the man nodded and the woman shook her head almost panicky, with a sigh the man turned to her and after another little bow with his head, he went on.

“The honour is our milady. My name is Heimdall, former gatekeeper and protector of Asgard, this is Brunnhilde, last of the Valkyrie.”

Nova Prime’s sharp senses easily caught the slight hesitation in his introduction. She felt a wave of sympathy for the man. She herself could be viewed as some kind of gatekeeper and protector, she felt the weight of that responsibility and remembered how she’d felt when her tries to solve the Ronan-affair with diplomacy had failed.

“We are grateful for your offer and your help.” The man went on. “However, since I am not a diplomat as you are I hope you don’t mind if I’m blunt?”

She smiled at that. “We had to accept to be rescued by some Guardians you should know by now. I can assure you they’re not even the worst people we’ve dealt with so far. I’d be in the wrong place if I couldn’t deal with bluntness.”

The man looked her straight into the eyes with a very disconcerting look that made her feel naked. “I’m glad t hear that since we’re really not the most used to situations like this. So bluntness it is…” He got interrupted by Valkyrie who seemed to have found her voice after all.

“What the two of us are asking ourselves the whole way here is: What exactly are you getting out of this?” She blurted out.  

Nova Prime smiled. “Since you’re so ‘blunt’ I’ll be so on my own. Even if I’d prefer to call it ‘honesty’ rather than ‘bluntness’.  Lately, a lot is going on in the galaxy, all around are rumours and news so terrifying it led even the Kree to become almost bearable in negotiations, stepping closer to us than anybody ever imagined. It’s been said that Thanos is coming.”

She looked at the two of them and stepped a bit closer for emphasis.

“It is Xandar’s and Nova’s goal to unite people and to help people as far as reasonably possible. It is part of our ethics to offer people a home if they lost theirs and we have the capacity to do so without hurting our people but having the Asgardians as allies, let’s say with the doom in the guise of a mad titan looming at our doors and an infinity stone under our protection we are not above being grateful to resettle a bunch of Æsir within our imperium, hoping they would protect it alongside us if necessary.”

The two Asgardians looked at each other and smiled again. “Well, that’s a pretty solid reason and one that’s absolutely agreeable to me,” Brunnhilde replied. Her worse nightmare would have been to find herself at the receiving end of pity all of a sudden.

“Well then I’d suggest you step over here and I show you the options we can offer to you and your people. I think we will come to a fast agreement where it would be best for you to settle down.” With that Nova Prime turned, her assistant didn’t fail her and the holo activated on cue.

The negotiations went smoothly, Heimdall stepped back a few times to get in contact with Thor and get his agreements now and then but in the end, they agreed on a Moon ready for the last stage of terraforming. They would be able to recreate their home as closely as possible, the Nova Corps would provide the necessities in exchange for some shared knowledge from the more forward aspects of Asgardian technology. They would settle under the standard contract for mutual benefits such as a defence pact and participation in government costs and personnel. Nova Empire agreed to put down any claims for now as a way of development aid though. This and other agreements went smoothly. The contracts Nova Empire offered were fair and sensible. One could easily see they had done that a lot. Both of them hoped they weren’t in for bad surprises but they had a good feeling. At least Heimdall could sense no malice from Nova Prime and he was used to looking through even Loki.

When Heimdall contacted Thor the last time for confirmation they got interrupted by some disturbances though.

He didn’t turn back for some time and when he did he looked enervated.

“What happened?” Valkyrie inquired.

“It looks they had an incident with Quill on earth.” Heimdall shook his head and could not suppress a bewildered smile.

Nova could not stop herself and showed some concern. The man had saved her world after all. “With Quill? What happened?”

Surprised the two looked at her and Heimdall went on. “It looks like Quill managed to activate his Celestial genes somehow and …” he hesitated in surprise when the Xandarians groaned simultaneously. “He became earth.” He finished uncertainly.

Now everybody in the room stared at him with shocked surprise. “He did WHAT?” Dey finally exclaimed.

 

Brunnhilde was very impressed with the Xandarian bureaucracy. She had always thought, that concept was something for people too lazy to simply talk. The Asgardian way of handling things was much more straightforward and simple. But while being forced to be part of a process like this she realized the main reason for that was that Asgard didn’t really care for any of the planets within their reign. Maybe with an administrative organization like Xandar’s, it would even have been possible to keep peace with Jotunheim. Even if it was just to avoid the governmental hassle that would come by violating any agreements.

Especially Nova Prime impressed her greatly. The woman had a force driving her that dimmed even a Valkyrie’s lust to battle. She had given everything up to become Nova Prime, she was Nova Prime. No one could be more deserving of that position. She put everything and anybody above her own needs. Then she put her own people first without leaving burnt earth when it came to others. That way she had managed to wrestle an imperium several sizes bigger than any Asgardian territories into peaceful interaction.

Brunnhilde was very happy Heimdall handled most of the logistics and not her.

After the most pressing matters had been dealt with and the only thing left was to say their ‘thank you’s’ and move on the Valkyrie wandered the headquarters in search of the stern leader. She found her looking out of a window in a quiet little meeting room.

Silently she stepped closer, suddenly at a loss of words. She had wanted to express her gratitude, her adoration to some degree. Now she didn’t know what to say.

Nova Prime turned and smiled at her. It was a practised politician’s smile that could not mask the worry in her eyes anymore.

“Hello, Brunnhilde, ready to move on?” She asked friendly enough though.

The warrior blinked and stepped closer. “No, not really.” She felt a bit insecure still but she went on. “I don’t think I’ll be very useful in what’s to come next. Besides… I wanted to ask since I’m the most replaceable person within my people maybe I could do something to repay you personally.”

The other one looked surprised and ready for an interruption, probably rejection but Brunnhilde didn’t let her.

“I mean I know you had your reasons and all. One could say maybe we deserve everything we get for what you want from us but that’s only true if you don’t know our people, we need to be powerful. We need to be warriors fighting for a higher cause, so I have the need…” she would have rambled on had Nova Prime not held up her hand and stopped her.

“Actually, there really is something you could do for me.” She smiled much more warmly at the warriors maiden, Brunnhilde felt good knowing already she was about to give some relief to that woman she already admired so much.

The ruler led the woman over to some chairs at a little table.

“Since I know now there is at least one infinity stone and a newly awakened celestial on earth I think it is prudent to establish contact.” She started. “Thanos is threatening the galaxy. Rumour has it he plans to destroy half of the population for some kind of equilibrium only he understands. His first goal will probably be the infinity stones, for they are the only known means powerful enough to reach such a goal. As a kudos to our new alliance and since it seems you are a very straightforward person I’d like you to accompany some of my men to establish the first contact with earth. It’s a delicate matter since Nova Empire usually desists from mingling with the development of planet-bound species and having the Asgardians on board would ease the ones I have to sell that too. You already had contact, the influence can’t get any worse.”

Brunnhilde smiled at the other woman. “I admire your cunning talent for politics.” She remarked. “Sure, let me be your sword. I’d be happy to serve such a reasonable master for a change.”

Both smiled at each other. The Valkyrie had the sure impression this could be a very good affiliation for her, maybe she’d even learn to somewhat control herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems I'll have to rewrite all of this a little bit. mOstly the titles and descriptions really. I planned to write some loosely connected one-shots on how different people meet. Yet I'm writing a story. In fact, I'm going to rewrite the whole Infinity War! And I'm going to because after having found this on my shared drive my roomie agreed to beta-read all of this during the next week and already told me she'd strangle me if I didn't finish...  
> Well, since I do not desire to be strangled and this IS kinda fun I guess that means I have to rewrite infinity war now. 
> 
> Please tell me, do any of you care? Anyone out there who'd like to read that?


	8. Earth meets Nova Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova Empire's entourage arrives on earth.  
> Tony avoids a meeting.

Somewhere around the government:

“Sir?” the young woman was almost running now. “Sir please, there is an incident to discuss! The matter is rather urgent!”

 

At the new Avengers facilities, a large conference room was filled with some very illustrious people, some physically here and some on screen in a live conference with them. Among the others, Stark sat back listening to an attorney who spoke for the consultation committee they had appointed when there was a disturbance outside. He heard some commotion and definitely someone tried to keep someone else out but soon the door was almost banged in and United States Secretary of State Ross appeared on the scene.

“Stark!” He exclaimed, and Tony could almost see steam emanating from his ears. “This is an unacceptable breach of the accords! I demand full cooperation to root out the newest threat to humanity and mankind in general! How could you hide some _inhumans_ and then even allow one of them to gain control of the planet!” I demand explanations!”

Tony just looked back rather calmly. The man was so out of it he didn’t even realize whom he was I a room with, his gaze absolutely fixated on him.  “That’s hella lot of complaints and demands is it?” He stated and simply turned around again.

Before Ross could get himself wound up more, a slight cough from the other side of the room made him get silent again. When he turned around his face turned into a rather ill-looking shade of green, his mouth opened and closed but he could not get a word out.

“Anything else you have to say or ‘demand’ Secretary?” the stern voice of Matthew Ellis didn’t lose anything by being transferred over a screen. If not I would like to go on and assess the actual situation. Oh and thank you, Mr Secretary,” the president of the united states went on, “for showing me life and in colour what I didn’t want to believe when I was told.”

Stark was very proud of himself that he managed not to laugh.

“I beg your pardon Sir but what have you been told and much more interesting by whom?”

The Secretary-General of the United Nations complained about a lack of US collaboration concerning the new threats to mankind and he especially complained about a lack of cooperation by you.” Ellis calmly went on. “He said, and I quote: he could not understand how I could send him a self-centred dick like you to assess and work at matters of such delicacy.”

The man settled back down a bit. “So I find myself in the position to do a job that is not my job simply because I choose the wrong person for one of the most important positions in the world. Oh and by the way, when did you plan on telling anybody you’d gotten in contact with an extra-terrestrial Empire and blandly denied their offer of negotiations?”

Ross paled and swayed, how could they already know about the contact from the Nova…oh no, the Secretary-General. Of course, they had contacted him as well. How could he be so stupid?

“Well Mr Ross,” the civil addressing shocked him more than anything else, “since the last thing we need right now is a political scandal running through the press, your considerable flaws will be overlooked for the moment but I suggest you sit down and don’t interfere further till we’re done to review the newest version of the Accords. Maybe this time we’ll find a solution that will do more good than harm. After that, we need to prepare for the next UN meeting when the representatives of the Nova Empire will talk to all of us. The fact that our planet nowadays is sentient is also a complication we need to talk about. But funnily right now that of all things might not even be the most pressing matter.”

Ross let himself fall into a nearby chair. This was definitely the worst day of his life.

The preparations for the first official diplomatic meeting was meticulous. The information given by Thor and the Guardians suggested that Nova Empire was one of the most powerful hegemonies in the Galaxy after all. It seemed a bit questionable that they had chosen the Guardians as agents now and then but no one could say with certainty they knew how things in outer Space should be handled.

When the day came and the United Nations assembled, it was an impressive little fleet though that had appeared in space right next to earth. The entourage entering the assembly, presenting the flag and flanking the big screen consisted of a wide variety of aliens. Some looked very human, some not so much. The experienced diplomats had to admit it was a great display to show how many different species would back up the claims of the elected leader they would meet soon.

It eased their last uneasiness over the newly ratified Accords. They saw clearly now that the old accords and their racism would have been an extreme disadvantage in the upcoming negotiations with an empire that based upon the spirit of equality and united strength of so many different species, lots of them just as strong and capable by nature as many of the so-called inhumans.  It had been this warning that they should better not present themselves as frightened savages in front of possible new allies which had tipped the vote. The Secretary-General remembered the fear-driven decision that led to the first accords. It had been a dark day for the Security Council to push through a treaty that simply ignored the human rights of people just because they were born differently than others. He could not understand how they could have ratified something that forced people to do things just to be able to participate in society no one would ever ask from a policeman or a soldier. They had robbed the rights of privacy and self-determination of an unforeseeable number of people just to serve the fear-driven demands of some voices without even trying to make it right. Now there was a bigger threat out there, a threat that could cost them everything. Just this threat had managed what common sense should have done: unite the nations to fight together for their lives with everything they had. The fear of the inhumans and other strong talents had led them to a decision that should have secured that things on earth stayed the way they were. Now they were forced to realize this was not going to happen anyways and if they alienated their greatest assets, they might be eradicated. The new Accords would not only appear to superhumans and aliens, it was an agreement the world had never seen before. It was an agreement of human rights, of general laws, of respect and protection. It would be applied to everybody setting foot on earth, treating everybody as equals, giving anyone the same rights and duties. It formulated sanctions for infringements against the agreed international laws, the human rights and avoidable destruction of property.

They were real. It was a very sad thought that they had to be threatened by alien fleets and mass destruction before they could have come up with something so sensible.

The Secretary-General stepped up to speak for them all. To face the leader of those alien empire and he had never been more nervous in his life.

Two of the aliens stepped forward holding guidons adorned with the sign of the Nova Empire, a red, axial-symmetric star.  They flanked the big screen where Nova Prime appeared soon after they had taken their stands.

The woman appearing on the screen surrounded by her own assembly was very impressive. She smiled warmly at them all.

“Thank you for answering my request for communication.” She started with a calm and friendly voice. “I am Nova Prime, the elected leader of the Nova Corps and the elected speaker for the Nova Empire.” A slight murmur run through the assembly, it hadn’t gone unnoticed that she hadn’t given her name.

“As far as I know it is customary to introduce oneself with their private names within your culture, so you might know that I was formerly known as Irani Rael, but my private life had to be left behind when I took on my duties, and so has my name. I dedicated myself to the goal of uniting my people, protecting them and give everything I have to bring peace upon all of us. This is what I’ve been elected for and so far this has been my only duty.”

This words caused a slight uneasiness among the assembled people.

“This time though, the threat is bigger than anything the galaxy has ever faced before. We all are concerned and no one can avoid being affected if Thanos reaches his goal, it will destroy all of us.”

She looked stern now. Stern and worried. This woman was a master of presentation. “The mad Titan, last and mightiest of a race with unmeasurable power, had made it his goal to obliterate half of the population of the universe in what he believes is the only way to save the rest. What he doesn’t see is how much every single one of us can be of value, what he doesn’t realize is, with killing all those beings without consideration he might as well destroy any hope we might have to become worthy of living and ever grow above the reasons that led him to believe we have to be thinned out. Any being he destroys might be the one we need to mature ourselves, any single one might be the saviour we need to finally secure peace and equilibrium.”

She looked around and it was as if she addressed everyone personally. “The way we have seen our next of kin, the way we’ve seen strangers or aliens, this all might be what had limited us. We need each other, not for what we have in common, but for our differences. Only our uniqueness, only our ability to amend each other can bring rescue in this situation of dire menace to universal peace.”

Her eyes swept the room again. “It is my hope that we can find a way to come together. It is my hope we can bundle our resources, pool our uniqueness and become one in our goal to protect not just our own people, but the hope for unity and freedom for everybody.”

With this, she closed. It was dead silent in the room. The Secretary-General had to admit, this was a master politician he had to face.

While nations and planets were meeting and further actions were decided upon the Avengers initiative had their very own issues to deal with.

The new Accords had brought back the former fugitive Avengers. Now they had to be taken in again. Tony didn’t look forward to his first meeting with Rogers that’s for sure. He had barely found the time to think about what happened. While mulling over it in the few moments to spare he found his rage against the Winter Soldier diminishing, his rage against his assumed friend grew stronger and stronger. Hating the Winter Soldier was like hating a gun instead of a killer. But what Steve had done was… he had thought they were friends, hat poured much into that friendship and to learn that Steven had not trusted him, had not dared him worthy of being able to deal with the truth hurt. The man had denied him the chance to come to terms with that information, had allowed him to discover the truth in the most hurtful and cruel way possible just because he didn’t trust Stark to be able to come to terms with everything.

The mixed feelings had sorted themselves out. He hated Captain America.

He had honestly tried to be fair, had tried to think about it in different ways but the final truth was, had Stephen told him the whole truth from the beginning, had trusted him, the worst could have been prevented. There would have been other ways. He didn’t think Rogers was the root of all evil, heavens no, there was plenty of blame to go around. Tony was also more than willing to take responsibility for his role to let the Avengers fall apart but it wasn’t his fault alone. He could admit the Captain was right on the topic of the Account but the way he had dealt with their private situation was a completely different thing.

While mulling over it in the few moments to spare he found his rage against the Winter Soldier diminishing, his rage against his assumed friend grew stronger and stronger. Hating the Winter Soldier was like hating a gun instead of a killer. But what Steve had done was… he had thought they were friends, hat poured much into that friendship and to learn that Steven had not trusted him, had not deemed him worthy of being able to deal with the truth hurt. The man had denied him the chance to come to terms with that information. This way he was responsible for him to discover the truth in the most hurtful and cruel way possible just because he didn’t have confidence in Stark to be able to come to terms with everything.

Steve had decided Tony was petty and would not be able to overcome his rightful rage. He had denied Tony the chance to recognize those truly responsible and simply decided to keep his friend safe was too important to give Tony even a shred of a chance to do the right thing.

Stark could understand why Steve had shielded his friend, had protected him. He would have done the same had the situation been reversed. He could not understand that Steve had not given him the benefit of the doubt and didn’t even try to tell him everything and defend his friend before it was too late.

So when it was time to greet the old Avengers, welcome them back and prepare them for the upcoming battle he rather fled.

Better hide in Kamar-Taj and submerge himself in the task of helping Peter understand modern socio-economics than dealing with that.

It was peaceful in Kathmandu. The cool air and the early morning mists soothed his troubled soul more than he was willing to admit.

The first thing he saw when entering the premises after a troubling journey by portal was an even more troubling picture. Loki was training with the novices.

At least he hoped it was training since the masters were standing in a loose circle without interfering while the novices stormed the trickster from all sides trying to overpower him while he fought back furiously. The air drifting over from the training grounds was icy cold, Loki had transformed into his true self again and it looked as if he was exploring his different abilities. Great, as if they needed an even stronger possible opponent on their hands. Stark wasn’t exactly sure if he really trusted the man.

He silently stepped past the training grounds and went into the depth of the facility.

He knew his way deep down into the ancient room of runes now. It was a bit unsettling that he even knew and accepted something like a room of runes.

There he found Strange and Quill facing each other in an exercise of meditation. He let himself sag into a corner of the silent room and enjoyed the quiet, simply staring at the two figures in front of him.

After a while he saw a soft glow emanate from Quill, his body flickered and almost dissolved, just to become more solid again. Not simple meditation then he concluded.

After a while, Stephen started to speak. “Concentrate Peter. It is important you realize this body is no longer your real body, just an emanation of your mind. You need to be able to create an astral projection in order to ensure your independence from earth. Then you also need to be able to control and materialize matter.”

He opened his eyes and looked at the other who had stopped his efforts looking downtrodden.

Stephen bowed forwards and patted the other's shoulder.  “You know what the problem is right?” Peter sighed and nodded.

“I cling to my former existence too much to embrace the new.” He replied.

Stephen smiled. “Well, acceptance is the first step to development. We could see that with Loki already if he could do it, you can do as well.” They both chuckled at that. “Let’s call it a day.” The Sorcerer went on, “I see we have a visitor for you.” Both of them turned to Tony and smiled.

“Time for another lesson then?” Quill asked, “Oh man I am ready you betcha!”

Tony allowed himself a little bit of doubt but got ready anyway.

After a while, it became clear that Quill was not ready though. He simply seemed unable to concentrate. Strange suggested another meditation to him and announced he had some things to discuss with Tony.

They left Quill behind and moved through the now silent premises.

“I don’t think he’ll be a good asset if Thanos would come tomorrow,” Stephen stated. “He struggles to accommodate to his new form. If he had to fight, his lack of self-coordination could easily result in the complete destruction of earth.”

Tony looked at the man. After they had a little bickering about who was responsible for Quill becoming Earth in the first place, the easy back and forth they had established right after their first official meeting had come back again. He was very worried about himself that the Sorcerer had been his most important confidant for a while now.

“What can we do?” He asked. Stephen just snorted. “Maybe not much. The training in the Mystic Arts seems to help. Whatever it is Loki does helps too even if I must admit I don’t feel that good to let him.” Tony felt very relieved at that statement. “I must admit though that Loki’s present feels a lot different on earth than it had the last time I met him. Besides, we have no choice than to trust him. Maybe that woman, Mantis, could help too if we could get her here, Peter told me she lived with his father for a long time. Maybe she can give some insight into a Celestial we cannot provide.”

Tony nodded slowly.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

With everybody fully immersed into either the first contact with the Nova Corps or the reintegration of former Avengers, it wasn’t that hard to sneak away Mantis. Well, he had to take the other Guardians too but they weren’t that useful on the facilities anyway. Maybe the help of his friends would do Quill good after all.

The reuniting was promising. They were rough with each other, almost to the brink of disdain but Tony recognized their banter for what it truly was. A token display of deep friendship. He felt a slight ache when he remembered how his team had been before everything fell apart.

Peter leaned into Mantis touch soon and the first thing she did was putting him to sleep for the moment.

What are you doing there?” Stephen almost panicked but nothing happened besides Peter falling into slumber right onto the lap of a very flushed looking Gamora.

“He needs rest if he is to stay stable,” Mantis stated matter of factly. “Even a Celestial needs sleep. He’s not really aware of it yet, but soon he will realize he can feel everything that happens on him, then he will realize he can feel most of what happened in the space around him, then he will be able to stretch out and sense almost everything. If he is not rested he will become like Ego. His father became better a bit when we met and I hoped I could soothe him but it was too late. The constant sensations without escape into sleep had driven him insane. If you want me to help Peter, the first thing he has to learn is to distance himself from this sensations and be able to sleep. Without that he’ll…”

She looked at them all one by one before lowering her head in embarrassment. She was not used to be in the middle of attention and call the shots.

Stephen looked thoughtful and nodded after a while. “Sounds sensible.” He said. Looking at what people tend to do on this planet without regarding the consequences I definitely can see the risk of Quill becoming agitated as soon as he realizes it.”

 They disbanded soon after that, trying not to interrupt Peter’s rest. Rocked asked to be ported back to base now that he had seen his friend and Drax agreed to come with him. He hoped he could catch somebody willing to spar in the training rooms. Groot could not be pried from the gardens, it looked as if he was rooting there somehow. Gamora stayed with Quill and Tony decided a walk in the gardens would do him good.

He wandered around aimlessly when he heard Loki’s voice. Curious he inched closer. He had to know what the other was up to.

“… harm you I promise! I just want to know what exactly you did to my mind!” the trickster ended his sentence. He was standing with Mantis half hidden behind a column. The woman looked uncomfortable but Loki had his arms spread and kept an acceptable distance.

“I just…” she looked away, her face blushed and she seemed to be ashamed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not angry. I can sense the difference of what I was and what I’ve become. I still feel in the back of my head how I would feel had you not touched me, but I can also see how much I profit from the changes. I’m stronger now and much more in control than I have ever been. I just want to know what you did to make that happen. I want to know if I…” He stopped and looked utterly lost now. “I just want to know how much I’m still me.”

She looked up in shock. “I didn’t brainwash you!” She exclaimed. Of course, you are still you. I just…” She looked away again but Loki simply waited. “I strengthened your self-esteem, that’s all.”

“My self…” the other stopped midsentence. He kept still for a while. “Yes, I can see how that might have this effect. I feel content. I no longer feel the urge to prove myself and I lost the fear of losing in any form.” He slowly stepped closer to Mantis.

“I can reverse that!” She exclaimed. “If you really want me to I can make you the way you were but it has to be now. As soon as the changes incorporate into your personality, it will stay and no one will be able to simply reverse it again.”

Loki mulled over the offer for a while. “No.” He finally stated. “Let it stay this way. I guess I can get used to feeling good for once.” He smiled brightly at her and she hesitantly smiled back. After a while, they turned and moved into the facilities. Tony was left to his own thoughts.

He realized he felt a bit better now. Finally, it seemed as if for once they were as much on track to become prepared as they could ever get. Hopefully, they would have enough time to get ready.

He prayed for them to be, this time there was everything on the line.


End file.
